1.4: Reading to Write
WHAT THIS HANDOUT IS ABOUT
This handout suggests reading, note-taking, and writing strategies for when you need to use reading assignments or sources as the springboard for writing a paper.
READING STRATEGIES
- Read (or at least skim) all parts of the reading. Sometimes the cover, title, preface, introduction, illustrations, appendices, epilogue, footnotes and “about the author” sections can provide you with valuable information.
- Identify the genre of the reading. What kind of a reading is it? (Journal article? Mass media? Novel? Textbook?) Why was it written? Who does the author assume is going to read this work? (Books about politics written for an audience of political scientists, for example, might be very different from books about politics written for the general public, for historians, or for sociologists.)
- Consider the author. What do you know or what can you learn about this person? Why did he or she write the book? What sources of information and/or methods did he or she use to gather the information presented in the book?
- Guess why your instructor assigned the reading. How does it fit in with other readings, class discussions, major course themes, or the purpose of the class?
- Get out a calendar and plan your reading. Get out a calendar and plan your reading. Plot the number of days or hours that it may take you to complete the reading. Be realistic. It may help to read one chapter of the reading and then revise your calendar—some readings take longer than others of a similar length. Visit the Learning Center if you’d like to learn more about scheduling your work or reading more quickly and effectively.
- As you read, record your reactions and questions. Any reaction or question is valid, from the specific (“What’s that word mean?”) to the general (“What’s her point?”). Write them down now so that you’ll remember them later. These reactions and questions can serve as material for class discussion, or they can be the jumping off point for brainstorming a paper.
- Read with a friend. Find someone else who is reading the same book. Set reading goals together and plan to share your reactions to sections of the reading before class, after class, over e-mail, and so on.
- Visit your instructor during office hours to discuss the reading. Your instructor will set aside hours when he or she will be available to meet with students. This is a great time to talk about the reading, ask questions, share your reactions, and get to know your instructor. You can do this with a friend or in a small group as well.
- Think about what is missing in the reading. Issues, events, or ideas that are missing, left out, avoided, or not discussed/addressed in the book might be important. Thinking about these omissions can give you a critical perspective on the reading by showing you what the author (consciously or unconsciously) doesn’t want to deal with.
- If you know you will have to answer a particular question in response to the reading, read with that question in mind. Sometimes faculty will give you essay questions in advance. As you read the text, refer back to those questions and think about your emerging answers to them.
WRITING STRATEGIES
While reading
- Write as you read. Record your reactions informally and briefly after you’ve read for a while. When you’re done reading a section, write for five minutes to capture your personal thoughts, reactions, and questions as you go along.
- Keep your notes with your book. Tuck a few sheets of paper or a notepad inside the book to record your ideas as you read.
- Share your informal writing with a friend. Trade notes/questions/reactions to the book. Write five-minute responses to one another about the reading. This can be done by e-mail.
- Draw while you read. Drawing pictures, maps or diagrams of relationships or important issues that you see emerging from the reading can help you understand them. Be willing to revise or redraw the map as you read.
After you read
- React to the whole reading. Take twenty minutes to record your reactions to the reading as a whole. (Return to the reading strategies list to get you started if you need to.) Don’t be afraid to guess, hypothesize, or follow a tangent.
- Reread the writing assignment . The Writing Center has a useful handout on understanding assignments that may help.
- Get out a calendar and schedule the time you will need to write your paper . Working backwards from the due date, plot a timeline for producing the paper. Include time for at least one rough draft and one chance to receive feedback from others (a friend, your teaching assistant, your professor, the Writing Center, etc.) before turning it in.
- Plan your research and think about citation . If the assignment requires library research, decide upon a strategy for collecting and citing sources as you research and write. Be sure to cite any quoted information or information that was not generated by your own analysis. Your instructor can answer all of your questions about this important step.
- Write a draft, preferably a few days before the paper is due . Instructors can usually tell the difference between papers that have been carefully drafted and revised and papers that have been hurriedly written the night before they are due. Papers written the night before often receive disappointing grades.
- Get feedback from at least one person, and preferably several people, before you finalize your draft . When possible, give your readers a copy of the assignment, too. E-mail can make this process easier. See the Writing Center’s handout on getting feedback .
- Proofread your paper to catch errors before handing it in . Taking the time to spell-check and proofread will make your paper easier to read and show your reader that you cared about the assignment. The Writing Center’s handout on editing and proofreading may help.
When you get your paper back
- Read all of your instructor’s comments. Assess your strengths and weaknesses in completing this reading/writing assignment. Plan what adjustments you’ll make in the process for the next reading/writing assignment you will undertake. It may help to save all of your old papers so that you can refer back to them and look for patterns in your instructor’s comments. You may also want to keep a small notebook for your own assessment—writing down that you didn’t leave ample time for revision on one paper, for example, may help you remember to schedule your time more effectively for the next paper.


1.4: Refraction
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Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe how rays change direction upon entering a medium
- Apply the law of refraction in problem solving
You may often notice some odd things when looking into a fish tank. For example, you may see the same fish appearing to be in two different places (Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)). This happens because light coming from the fish to you changes direction when it leaves the tank, and in this case, it can travel two different paths to get to your eyes. The changing of a light ray’s direction (loosely called bending) when it passes through substances of different refractive indices is called refraction and is related to changes in the speed of light, \(v=c/n\). Refraction is responsible for a tremendous range of optical phenomena, from the action of lenses to data transmission through optical fibers.
Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\) shows how a ray of light changes direction when it passes from one medium to another. As before, the angles are measured relative to a perpendicular to the surface at the point where the light ray crosses it. (Some of the incident light is reflected from the surface, but for now we concentrate on the light that is transmitted.) The change in direction of the light ray depends on the relative values of the indices of refraction of the two media involved. In the situations shown, medium 2 has a greater index of refraction than medium 1. Note that as shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{1a}\), the direction of the ray moves closer to the perpendicular when it progresses from a medium with a lower index of refraction to one with a higher index of refraction. Conversely, as shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{1b}\), the direction of the ray moves away from the perpendicular when it progresses from a medium with a higher index of refraction to one with a lower index of refraction. The path is exactly reversible.
The amount that a light ray changes its direction depends both on the incident angle and the amount that the speed changes. For a ray at a given incident angle, a large change in speed causes a large change in direction and thus a large change in angle. The exact mathematical relationship is the law of refraction, or Snell’s law, after the Dutch mathematician Willebrord Snell (1591–1626), who discovered it in 1621. The law of refraction is stated in equation form as
\[n_1 \, \sin \, θ_1=n_2 \, \sin \, θ_2. \label{snell's law} \]
Here (n_1\) and \(n_2\) are the indices of refraction for media 1 and 2, and \(θ_1\) and \(θ_2\) are the angles between the rays and the perpendicular in media 1 and 2. The incoming ray is called the incident ray, the outgoing ray is called the refracted ray, and the associated angles are the incident angle and the refracted angle, respectively.
Snell’s experiments showed that the law of refraction is obeyed and that a characteristic index of refraction \(n\) could be assigned to a given medium and its value measured. Snell was not aware that the speed of light varied in different media, a key fact used when we derive the law of refraction theoretically using Huygens’s Principle .
Example \(\PageIndex{1}\): Determining the Index of Refraction
Find the index of refraction for medium 2 in Figure \(\PageIndex{1a}\), assuming medium 1 is air and given that the incident angle is 30.0° and the angle of refraction is 22.0°.
Strategy
The index of refraction for air is taken to be 1 in most cases (and up to four significant figures, it is 1.000). Thus, \(n_1=1.00\) here. From the given information, \(θ_1=30.0°\) and \(θ_2=22.0°\). With this information, the only unknown in Snell’s law is \(n_2\), so we can use Snell’s law (Equation \ref{snell's law}) to find it.
Solution
From Snell’s law (Equation \ref{snell's law}), we have
\[\begin{align*} n_1\sin θ_1 &=n_2 \sin θ_2 \\[4pt] n_2 &= n_1\dfrac{\sin θ_1}{\sin θ_2}. \end{align*} \nonumber \]
Entering known values,
\[\begin{align*} n_2 &=1.00 \dfrac{\sin 30.0°}{\sin 22.0°} \\[4pt] &= \dfrac{0.500}{0.375} \\[4pt] &=1.33. \end{align*} \nonumber \]
Significance
This is the index of refraction for water, and Snell could have determined it by measuring the angles and performing this calculation. He would then have found 1.33 to be the appropriate index of refraction for water in all other situations, such as when a ray passes from water to glass. Today, we can verify that the index of refraction is related to the speed of light in a medium by measuring that speed directly.
Explore bending of light between two media with different indices of refraction. Use the “Intro” simulation and see how changing from air to water to glass changes the bending angle. Use the protractor tool to measure the angles and see if you can recreate the configuration in Example \(\PageIndex{1}\). Also by measurement, confirm that the angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence.
Example \(\PageIndex{2}\): A Larger Change in Direction
Suppose that in a situation like that in Example \(\PageIndex{1}\), light goes from air to diamond and that the incident angle is 30.0°. Calculate the angle of refraction θ 2 in the diamond.
Strategy
Again, the index of refraction for air is taken to be n 1 =1.00, and we are given θ 1 =30.0°. We can look up the index of refraction for diamond , finding n 2 =2.419. The only unknown in Snell’s law is \(θ_2\), which we wish to determine.
Solution
Solving Snell’s law (Equation \ref{snell's law}) for \(\sin θ_2\) yields
\[\sin θ_2=\frac{n_1}{n_2}\sin θ_1. \nonumber \]
Entering known values,
\[\sin θ_2=\frac{1.00}{2.419}\sin30.0°=(0.413)(0.500)=0.207. \nonumber \]
The angle is thus
\[θ_2=\sin^{−1}(0.207)=11.9°. \nonumber \]
Significance
For the same 30.0° angle of incidence, the angle of refraction in diamond is significantly smaller than in water (11.9° rather than 22.0°—see Example \(\PageIndex{2}\)). This means there is a larger change in direction in diamond. The cause of a large change in direction is a large change in the index of refraction (or speed). In general, the larger the change in speed, the greater the effect on the direction of the ray.
Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\): Zircon
The solid with the next highest index of refraction after diamond is zircon. If the diamond in Example \(\PageIndex{2}\) were replaced with a piece of zircon, what would be the new angle of refraction?
- Answer
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15.1°


Page Title
Purpose of the study
This study aims to contribute to the need for sound theory development and empirical research in the field of improvisation training by providing empirical evidence to support the use of improvisational theatre techniques for enhancing climate for work group innovation. It also aims to contribute to the development of the existing theory in making explicit the link between the principles of improvisational theatre and the factors of climate for work group innovation.
Current theoretical perspectives
Improvisational theatre is a form of theatre that does not use a script or predetermined ideas for dialogue, direction or movement (Nevraumont, Hanson & Smeaton, 2002). The performance is executed spontaneously and without any preconceptions in response to the immediate stimuli of the environment (Frost & Yarrow, 1990). These stimuli include suggestions from the audience about the characters, location, situation and style of the scene and include offers made by fellow actors on stage (Nevraumont et al., 2002). In order to create successful performances, improvisational actors must therefore work together as a cooperative team (Frost & Yarrow, 1990). Although improvisational theatre performances are unpredictable, this does not imply that they are without substantial structure or principles. These principles are trust and support, acceptance, listening and awareness and narrative skills. It is suggested here that these principles relate to the factors supportive of an innovative work group climate.
Improvisational training in organizations
Background: Recent research results have shown that creativity and originality are neglected in the formal educational system (Beard & Wilson, 2002). It has, however, been suggested that individuals can relearn to be creative and spontaneous (De Bono, 1982; 1990; Vera & Crossan 2005). Improvisational theatre has shown that the potential to be creative and spontaneous can be rediscovered and developed through exercises. According to Izzo (1997) and Lowe (2000), creativity and spontaneity are improvisational skills and can be learned by anyone, as long as learners understand and apply themselves to the principles. Learning can take place during experiential training that incorporates theatre games and exercises (Frost & Yarrow, 1990; Izzo, 1997; Spolin, 1963).
Process of improvisational training: Improvisational training involves the playing of theatre games designed to develop process skills (e.g. listening and communication), context specific knowledge (a perspective and a context that enable team members to leave their comfort zone) as well as techniques that promote acceptance and shared responsibility (Crossan, 1998). Therefore improvisational theatre exercises provide a context wherein individuals can learn experientially the principles necessary for innovation. Teams develop through playing, seeing that bonds of communication are created between the playing members as well as through experiencing shared attitudes and behavioural patterns (PirolaMarlo et al., 2002). Can it therefore be argued that a work group which is exposed to an improvisational theatre training programme would not only learn skills that would help the individual to be more innovative, but would also create shared attitudes and behaviours that could benefit the group as a whole? This question deserves note, as this study is concerned with whether or not climate for work group innovation, (as a shared attitude toward the work environment) would be influenced by improvisational interventions. Improvisation is a skill that can be learnt by applying oneself to the principles of improvisational theatre when playing theatre games (Frost & Yarrow, 1990; Izzo, 1997; Spolin, 1963). Furthermore, the skill of improvisation promotes a group’s capacity to innovate (Vera & Crossan, 2005).
2 KIRSTEN, B., DU PREEZ, R. Improvisational theatre as team development intervention for climate for work group innovation. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 36, Nov. 2010. Available at: https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/862/952 . Date accessed: 16 Sep. 2016. Used under CC BY 4.0 .


7.6: Conclusion
We’ll move onto Natural Deduction in the next chapter, and that’s a continuation of propositional logic. I’ll have a lot more to say about logic in general, its usefulness, and its value at the end of Chapter 7. If you won’t be studying natural deduction, please do go and read sections 7.5 and 7.6 as I think they are important things to think about after learning a bit of deductive logic. For now, let me just congratulate you! You’ve learned how to take English sentences, symbolize them into formulas in propositional logic as a means of symbolizing the logical form of those sentences, and then you learned how to use those symbols to learn things about the original sentences you were symbolizing. You can now test for the validity of inferences and the consistency of sets of propositions, among many other things. I mention these two because I think they’re probably the most useful of the set of analyses you can now run on an argument or set of statements. That’s all for now!


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5.1: Introduction to solution
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The solution, i.e., a homogeneous mixture is described along with the concepts of solvent, solute, and types of solution. Water as a solvent and its dissolution mechanism are described.
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5.2: Solubility
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Solubility, i.e., the maximum amount of solute that can dissolve in a given amount of solvent, is described along with the terminologies. Solubility guidelines that help in predicting the solubility of ionic compounds in water are listed.
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5.3: Electrolytes
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Electrolytes, i.e., the compounds that dissolve in water and dissociated partially or fully into ions are described. Equivalent i.e., a mole of charge is also introduced along with body fluids and their concentration.
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5.4: Concentration of solutions
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Concentration, i.e., the amount of solute in a given amount of solution, is described along with its different units. Preparation of and dilution of the solution are also presented.
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5.5: Osmosis
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Osmosis, i.e., the passage of water and small molecules across a semipermeable member with a net flow towards a more concentrated solution is described. The role of osmosis in water purification, in living systems like excretion of wastes by kidneys, are also described.


10.5: Nervous System Control of Muscle Tension
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain concentric, isotonic, and eccentric contractions
- Describe the length-tension relationship
- Describe the three phases of a muscle twitch
- Define wave summation, tetanus, and treppe
To move an object, referred to as load, the sarcomeres in the muscle fibers of the skeletal muscle must shorten. The force generated by the contraction of the muscle (or shortening of the sarcomeres) is called muscle tension . However, muscle tension also is generated when the muscle is contracting against a load that does not move, resulting in two main types of skeletal muscle contractions: isotonic contractions and isometric contractions.
In isotonic contractions , where the tension in the muscle stays constant, a load is moved as the length of the muscle changes (shortens). There are two types of isotonic contractions: concentric and eccentric. A concentric contraction involves the muscle shortening to move a load. An example of this is the biceps brachii muscle contracting when a hand weight is brought upward with increasing muscle tension. As the biceps brachii contract, the angle of the elbow joint decreases as the forearm is brought toward the body. Here, the biceps brachii contracts as sarcomeres in its muscle fibers are shortening and cross-bridges form; the myosin heads pull the actin. An eccentric contraction occurs as the muscle tension diminishes and the muscle lengthens. In this case, the hand weight is lowered in a slow and controlled manner as the amount of cross-bridges being activated by nervous system stimulation decreases. In this case, as tension is released from the biceps brachii, the angle of the elbow joint increases. Eccentric contractions are also used for movement and balance of the body.
An isometric contraction occurs as the muscle produces tension without changing the angle of a skeletal joint. Isometric contractions involve sarcomere shortening and increasing muscle tension, but do not move a load, as the force produced cannot overcome the resistance provided by the load. For example, if one attempts to lift a hand weight that is too heavy, there will be sarcomere activation and shortening to a point, and ever-increasing muscle tension, but no change in the angle of the elbow joint. In everyday living, isometric contractions are active in maintaining posture and maintaining bone and joint stability. However, holding your head in an upright position occurs not because the muscles cannot move the head, but because the goal is to remain stationary and not produce movement. Most actions of the body are the result of a combination of isotonic and isometric contractions working together to produce a wide range of outcomes (Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\) ).
All of these muscle activities are under the exquisite control of the nervous system. Neural control regulates concentric, eccentric and isometric contractions, muscle fiber recruitment, and muscle tone. A crucial aspect of nervous system control of skeletal muscles is the role of motor units.
Motor Units
As you have learned, every skeletal muscle fiber must be innervated by the axon terminal of a motor neuron in order to contract. Each muscle fiber is innervated by only one motor neuron. The actual group of muscle fibers in a muscle innervated by a single motor neuron is called a motor unit . The size of a motor unit is variable depending on the nature of the muscle.
A small motor unit is an arrangement where a single motor neuron supplies a small number of muscle fibers in a muscle. Small motor units permit very fine motor control of the muscle. The best example in humans is the small motor units of the extraocular eye muscles that move the eyeballs. There are thousands of muscle fibers in each muscle, but every six or so fibers are supplied by a single motor neuron, as the axons branch to form synaptic connections at their individual NMJs. This allows for exquisite control of eye movements so that both eyes can quickly focus on the same object. Small motor units are also involved in the many fine movements of the fingers and thumb of the hand for grasping, texting, etc.
A large motor unit is an arrangement where a single motor neuron supplies a large number of muscle fibers in a muscle. Large motor units are concerned with simple, or “gross,” movements, such as powerfully extending the knee joint. The best example is the large motor units of the thigh muscles or back muscles, where a single motor neuron will supply thousands of muscle fibers in a muscle, as its axon splits into thousands of branches.
There is a wide range of motor units within many skeletal muscles, which gives the nervous system a wide range of control over the muscle. The small motor units in the muscle will have smaller, lower-threshold motor neurons that are more excitable, firing first to their skeletal muscle fibers, which also tend to be the smallest. Activation of these smaller motor units, results in a relatively small degree of contractile strength (tension) generated in the muscle. As more strength is needed, larger motor units, with bigger, higher-threshold motor neurons are enlisted to activate larger muscle fibers. This increasing activation of motor units produces an increase in muscle contraction known as recruitment . As more motor units are recruited, the muscle contraction grows progressively stronger. In some muscles, the largest motor units may generate a contractile force of 50 times more than the smallest motor units in the muscle. This allows a feather to be picked up using the biceps brachii arm muscle with minimal force, and a heavy weight to be lifted by the same muscle by recruiting the largest motor units.
When necessary, the maximal number of motor units in a muscle can be recruited simultaneously, producing the maximum force of contraction for that muscle, but this cannot last for very long because of the energy requirements to sustain the contraction. To prevent complete muscle fatigue, motor units are generally not all simultaneously active, but instead some motor units rest while others are active, which allows for longer muscle contractions. The nervous system uses recruitment as a mechanism to efficiently utilize a skeletal muscle.
The Length-Tension Range of a Sarcomere
When a skeletal muscle fiber contracts, myosin heads attach to actin to form cross-bridges followed by the thin filaments sliding over the thick filaments as the heads pull the actin, and this results in sarcomere shortening, creating the tension of the muscle contraction. The cross-bridges can only form where thin and thick filaments already overlap, so that the length of the sarcomere has a direct influence on the force generated when the sarcomere shortens. This is called the length-tension relationship.
The ideal length of a sarcomere to produce maximal tension occurs at 80 percent to 120 percent of its resting length, with 100 percent being the state where the medial edges of the thin filaments are just at the most-medial myosin heads of the thick filaments (Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\) ). This length maximizes the overlap of actin-binding sites and myosin heads. If a sarcomere is stretched past this ideal length (beyond 120 percent), thick and thin filaments do not overlap sufficiently, which results in less tension produced. If a sarcomere is shortened beyond 80 percent, the zone of overlap is reduced with the thin filaments jutting beyond the last of the myosin heads and shrinks the H zone, which is normally composed of myosin tails. Eventually, there is nowhere else for the thin filaments to go and the amount of tension is diminished. If the muscle is stretched to the point where thick and thin filaments do not overlap at all, no cross-bridges can be formed, and no tension is produced in that sarcomere. This amount of stretching does not usually occur, as accessory proteins and connective tissue oppose extreme stretching.
The Frequency of Motor Neuron Stimulation
A single action potential from a motor neuron will produce a single contraction in the muscle fibers of its motor unit. This isolated contraction is called a twitch . A twitch can last for a few milliseconds or 100 milliseconds, depending on the muscle type. The tension produced by a single twitch can be measured by a myogram , an instrument that measures the amount of tension produced over time (Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\)). Each twitch undergoes three phases. The first phase is the latent period , during which the action potential is being propagated along the sarcolemma and Ca ++ ions are released from the SR. This is the phase during which excitation and contraction are being coupled but contraction has yet to occur. The contraction phase occurs next. The Ca ++ ions in the sarcoplasm have bound to troponin, tropomyosin has shifted away from actin-binding sites, cross-bridges have formed, and sarcomeres are actively shortening to the point of peak tension. The last phase is the relaxation phase , when tension decreases as contraction stops. Ca ++ ions are pumped out of the sarcoplasm into the SR, and cross-bridge cycling stops, returning the muscle fibers to their resting state.
Although a person can experience a muscle “twitch,” a single twitch does not produce any significant muscle activity in a living body. A series of action potentials to the muscle fibers is necessary to produce a muscle contraction that can produce work. Normal muscle contraction is more sustained, and it can be modified by input from the nervous system to produce varying amounts of force; this is called a graded muscle response . The frequency of action potentials (nerve impulses) from a motor neuron and the number of motor neurons transmitting action potentials both affect the tension produced in skeletal muscle.
The rate at which a motor neuron fires action potentials affects the tension produced in the skeletal muscle. If the fibers are stimulated while a previous twitch is still occurring, the second twitch will be stronger. This response is called wave summation , because the excitation-contraction coupling effects of successive motor neuron signaling is summed, or added together (Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\) a ). At the molecular level, summation occurs because the second stimulus triggers the release of more Ca ++ ions, which become available to activate additional sarcomeres while the muscle is still contracting from the first stimulus. Summation results in greater contraction of the motor unit.
If the frequency of motor neuron signaling increases, summation and subsequent muscle tension in the motor unit continues to rise until it reaches a peak point. The tension at this point is about three to four times greater than the tension of a single twitch, a state referred to as incomplete tetanus. During incomplete tetanus, the muscle goes through quick cycles of contraction with a short relaxation phase for each. If the stimulus frequency is so high that the relaxation phase disappears completely, contractions become continuous in a process called complete tetanus (Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\) b ).
During tetanus, the concentration of Ca ++ ions in the sarcoplasm allows virtually all of the sarcomeres to form cross-bridges and shorten, so that a contraction can continue uninterrupted (until the muscle fatigues and can no longer produce tension).
Treppe
When a skeletal muscle has been dormant for an extended period and then activated to contract, with all other things being equal, the initial contractions generate about one-half the force of later contractions. The muscle tension increases in a graded manner that to some looks like a set of stairs. This tension increase is called treppe , a condition where muscle contractions become more efficient. It’s also known as the “staircase effect” (Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\)).
It is believed that treppe results from a higher concentration of Ca ++ in the sarcoplasm resulting from the steady stream of signals from the motor neuron. It can only be maintained with adequate ATP.
Muscle Tone
Skeletal muscles are rarely completely relaxed, or flaccid. Even if a muscle is not producing movement, it is contracted a small amount to maintain its contractile proteins and produce muscle tone . The tension produced by muscle tone allows muscles to continually stabilize joints and maintain posture.
Muscle tone is accomplished by a complex interaction between the nervous system and skeletal muscles that results in the activation of a few motor units at a time, most likely in a cyclical manner. In this manner, muscles never fatigue completely, as some motor units can recover while others are active.
The absence of the low-level contractions that lead to muscle tone is referred to as hypotonia , and can result from damage to parts of the central nervous system (CNS), such as the cerebellum, or from loss of innervations to a skeletal muscle, as in poliomyelitis. Hypotonic muscles have a flaccid appearance and display functional impairments, such as weak reflexes. Conversely, excessive muscle tone is referred to as hypertonia , accompanied by hyperreflexia (excessive reflex responses), often the result of damage to upper motor neurons in the CNS. Hypertonia can present with muscle rigidity (as seen in Parkinson’s disease) or spasticity, a phasic change in muscle tone, where a limb will “snap” back from passive stretching (as seen in some strokes).


1.1: Biography of Marx by F. Engels (1868)
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KARL MARX (1818-1883)
“Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.” – Karl Marx, Theses on Feuerbach (1845)
NOTE ON SOURCES: The first selection is a short biography written by Marx’s close friend and lifetime-collaborator, Frederick Engels. The biography was written for a German newspaper but was not published at the time. The complete original can be found on the Marxist Archives site. [1] The second selection was written by Marx’s daughter, Eleanor, and originally published in a German newspaper in 1897 and can also be found on the Marxist Archives site. [2] The third selection describes the Marx household, and was written by a close friend and colleague, Wilhelm Liebknecht. [3] The final selection was taken from Engels’ much reprinted speech at Marx’s funeral in 1883. The complete speech can be found on line. [4]
Karl Marx was born on May 5, 1818 in Trier, where he received an education in the classics. He studied law at Bonn and later in Berlin, where, however, his preoccupation with philosophy soon turned him away from law. In 1841, after spending five years in the “metropolis of intellectuals,” he returned to Bonn to earn his PhD. Instead, he became involve in a radical newspaper venture, which ran afoul of Prussian censorship. He resigned in protest in 1843.
During his criticism of the deliberations of the local government, Marx began focusing on questions of material interest. He found himself confronted with points of view which neither jurisprudence nor philosophy had taken account of. Proceeding from the Hegelian philosophy of law, Marx concluded that it was not the state, which Hegel had described as the “top of the edifice,” but “civil society,” which Hegel had regarded with disdain, that was the sphere in which a key to the understanding of the process of the historical development of mankind should be looked for.
In the summer of 1843, after marrying Jenny Von Westphalen, the daughter of a government official, Marx moved to Paris, where he devoted himself primarily to studying political economy and the history of the great French Revolution. There he became involved in another radical newspaper and was expelled from France for this in 1845. He moved to Brussels where he continued his political work, writing what would become the Communist Manifesto on behest of workers organized as “The League of the Just.”
Expelled once again, this time by the Belgian government under the influence of the panic caused by the 1848 revolution, Marx returned to Paris at the invitation of the French provisional government. The tidal wave of the revolution pushed all scientific pursuits into the background; what mattered now was to become involved in the movement. Marx resurrected his radical newspaper and moved to Cologne, but this was again shut down by the government forcing him to flee to Paris, first, then, London, where he remained the rest of his life.
In London at that time was assembled the entire fine fleur of the refugees from all the nations of the continent. Revolutionary committees of every kind were formed. For a while, Marx continued to produce his newspaper in the form of a monthly review but eventually he withdrew into the British Museum and worked through the immense and as yet for the most part unexamined library there for all that it contained on political economy. At the same time, he was a regular contributor to the New York Tribune, acting, until the outbreak of the American Civil War, so to speak, as the editor for European politics of this, the leading Anglo-American newspaper.
At last, in 1867, he published the first volume of his masterpiece, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. It is the political economy of the working class, reduced to its scientific formulation. This work is concerned not with rabble-rousing phrase-mongering, but with strictly scientific deductions. Whatever one’s attitude to socialism, one will at any rate have to acknowledge that in this work it is presented for the first time in a scientific manner. Anyone still wishing to do battle with socialism, will have to deal with Marx.
But there is another point of view from which Marx’s book is of interest. It is the first work in which the actual relations existing between capital and labor, in their classical form such as they have reached in England, are described in their entirety and in a clear and graphic fashion. Then there is the history of factory legislation in England which, from its modest beginnings with the first acts of 1802, has now reached the point of limiting working hours in nearly all manufacturing or cottage industries to 60 hours per week for women and young people under the age of 18, and to 39 hours per week for children under 13. From this point of view the book is of the greatest interest for every industrialist.
As one would expect, in addition to his studies Marx is busy with the workers’ movement; he is one of the founders of the International Working Men’s Association, which has been the center of so much attention recently and has already shown in more than one place in Europe that it is a force to be reckoned with.
On the Relationship between Karl and Jenny
Karl was a young man of seventeen when he became engaged to Jenny. For them, too, the path of true love was not a smooth one. It is easy to understand that Karl’s parents opposed the engagement of a young man of his age … The earnestness with which Karl assures his father of his love in spite of certain contradictions is explained by the rather stormy scenes his engagement had caused in the home. My father used to say that at that time he had been a really ferocious Roland. But the question was soon settled and shortly before or after his eighteenth birthday the betrothal was formally recognized. Seven years Karl waited for his beautiful Jenny, but “they seemed but so many days to him, because he loved her so much”.
On June 19, 1843 they were wedded. Having played together as children and become engaged as a young man and girl, the couple went hand in hand through the battle of life.
And what a battle! Years of bitter pressing need and, still worse, years of brutal suspicion, infamous calumny and icy indifference. But through all that, in unhappiness and happiness, the two lifelong friends and lovers never faltered, never doubted: they were faithful unto death. And death has not separated them.
His whole life long Marx not only loved his wife, he was in love with her.
The Marx Household
Several children died; among them Marx’s two boys, one, born in London, very early, the other, born in Paris, after a protracted illness. Well I remember the sad weeks of sickness without hope. The death of this boy was a fearful blow to Marx. The boy, named Moosh (mouche, fly), really Edgar after an uncle, was very gifted, but ailing from the day of his birth, a genuine, true child of sorrow this boy with the magnificent eyes and the promising head that was, however, much too heavy for the weak body. If poor Moosh could have obtained quiet, enduring nursing and a sojourn in the country or near the sea, then, perhaps, his life might have been saved. But in the life of the exile, in the chase from place to place, in the misery of London, it was impossible, even with the most tender love of the parents and care of a mother, to make the tender little plant strong enough for the struggle of existence.
And two days later the burial, Lessner, Pfaender, Lochner, Conrad Schramm, the red Wolff and myself went along, I in the carriage with Marx.  I stroked his forehead: “Mohr, [6] you still have your wife, your girls and us, and we all love you so well!”
“You cannot give me back my boy!” he groaned, and silently we rode on to the graveyard in Tottenham Court Road. When the coffin, singularly large, for during the sickness the formerly very backward child had grown surprisingly, when the coffin was about to be lowered into the grave, Marx was so excited that I stepped to his side fearing he might jump after the coffin.
Thirty years later, when his faithful mate was buried out on Highgate Cemetery, and with her half of his own being, his own life, he would have fallen into the grave had not Engels, who later told me about it, quickly grasped his arm.
Fifteen months later he followed her.
The Lifetime Achievements of Marx
On the 14th of March, at a quarter to three in the afternoon, the greatest living thinker ceased to think. He had been left alone for scarcely two minutes, and when we came back we found him in his armchair, peacefully gone to sleep — but forever.
An immeasurable loss has been sustained both by the militant proletariat of Europe and America, and by historical science, in the death of this man. The gap that has been left by the departure of this mighty spirit will soon enough make itself felt.
Just as Darwin discovered the law of development of organic nature, so Marx discovered the law of development of human history: the simple fact, hitherto concealed by an overgrowth of ideology, that mankind must first of all eat, drink, have shelter and clothing, before it can pursue politics, science, art, religion, etc.; that therefore the production of the immediate material means, and consequently the degree of economic development attained by a given people or during a given epoch, form the foundation upon which the state institutions, the legal conceptions, art, and even the ideas on religion, of the people concerned have been evolved, and in the light of which they must, therefore, be explained, instead of vice versa, as had hitherto been the case.
But that is not all. Marx also discovered the special law of motion governing the present-day capitalist mode of production, and the bourgeois society that this mode of production has created. The discovery of surplus value suddenly threw light on the problem, in trying to solve which all previous investigations, of both bourgeois economists and socialist critics, had been groping in the dark.
Such was the man of science. But this was not even half the man.
For Marx was before all else a revolutionist. His real mission in life was to contribute, in one way or another, to the overthrow of capitalist society and of the state institutions which it had brought into being, to contribute to the liberation of the modern proletariat, which he was the first to make conscious of its own position and its needs, conscious of the conditions of its emancipation. Fighting was his element. And he fought with a passion, a tenacity and a success such as few could rival.
And, consequently, Marx was the best hated man of his time. Governments, both absolutist and republican, deported him from their territories. Bourgeois, whether conservative or ultra-democratic, vied with one another in heaping slanders upon him. All this he brushed aside as though it were a cobweb, ignoring it, answering only when extreme necessity compelled him. And he died beloved, revered and mourned by millions of revolutionary fellow workers — from the mines of Siberia to California, in all parts of Europe and America — and I make bold to say that, though he may have had many opponents, he had hardly one personal enemy.
His name will endure through the ages, and so also will his work.
Questions
- What is the “materialist theory of history?” According to Marx, what sets historical forces in motion? Where do ideas come from?
- How did Marx spend his life? What was his occupation?
- What are the “two important facts” uncovered by Marx, according to Engels? How are these relevant to people who advocate for socialism?
- Engels says that Marx was “the most hated man” of his time, but also that he died “beloved, revered, and mourned.” Explain this paradox.
Concepts
Historical Materialism (also known as the Materialist theory of history)
Class Struggle
Exploitation
Surplus Value
Labor Power
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https://www.marxists.org/archive/mar...x/eng-1869.htm
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https://www.marxists.org/archive/mar...rx/eleanor.htm
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https://www.marxists.org/archive/lie.../karl-marx.htm
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https://www.marxists.org/archive/mar...ath/burial.htm
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Lenchen was Jenny’s friend and household maidservant. She was with the family her entire life. ↵
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Mohr was a nickname for Marx; it is the German word for “Moor,” used to describe Marx because if his general swarthiness. ↵


6.8D: Detecting Acid and Gas Production
Culture media can be used to differentiate between different kinds of bacteria by detecting acid or gas production.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Show how microbial acid and gas production are detected
Key Takeaways
Cultures and Differential Media
A microbiological culture, or microbial culture, is created using a method for multiplying microbial organisms by letting them reproduce in predetermined culture media under controlled laboratory conditions. Microbial cultures are used to determine an organism’s type, its abundance in the sample being tested, or both. It is one of the primary diagnostic techniques of microbiology, where it is used as a tool to determine the cause of infectious diseases by letting the agent multiply in a predetermined medium. A throat culture, for example, is taken by scraping the lining of tissue in the back of the throat and blotting the sample into a growing medium; this will allow analysis to screen for harmful microorganisms, such as Streptococcus pyogenes , the causative agent of strep throat. The term “culture” can be used to refer to the process of culturing organisms, to the medium they’re grown in, and is more generally used informally to refer to “selectively growing” a specific kind of microorganism in the lab.
Differential media, also known as indicator media, distinguish one microorganism type from another growing on the same media. These types of media use the biochemical characteristics of a microorganism grown in the presence of specific nutrients or indicators that have been added to the medium to visibly indicate the defining characteristics of a microorganism. These indicators or nutrients include but are not limited to neutral red, phenol red, eosin y, and methylene blue. Differential media are used for the detection of microorganisms and by molecular biologists to detect recombinant strains of bacteria.
Durham Cultures
The Durham tube method is used to detect production of gas by microorganisms. They are simply smaller test tubes inserted upside down in another test tube. This small tube is initially filled with the solution in which the microorganism is to be grown. If gas is produced after inoculation and incubation, a visible gas bubble will be trapped inside the small tube. The initial air gap produced when the tube is inserted upside down is lost during sterilization, usually performed at 121°C for 15 or so minutes
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli ( E. coli ), a rod-shaped member of the coliform group, can be distinguished from most other coliforms by its ability to ferment lactose at 44°C in the fecal coliform test, and by its growth and color reaction on certain types of culture media. When cultured on an EMB (eosin methylene blue) plate, a positive result for E. coli is metallic green colonies on a dark purple media. Unlike the general coliform group, E. coli are almost exclusively of fecal origin and their presence is thus an effective confirmation of fecal contamination. Some strains of E. coli can cause serious illness in humans.
Sorbitol MacConkey Agar
Sorbitol MacConkey agar is a variant of the traditional MacConkey commonly used in the detection of E. coli O157:H7. Traditionally, MacConkey agar has been used to distinguish those bacteria that ferment lactose from those that do not.
This is an important distinction. Gut bacteria, such as Escherichia coli , can typically ferment lactose; important gut pathogens including Salmonella enterica and most shigellas are unable to ferment lactose. Shigella sonnei can ferment lactose, but only after prolonged incubation; it is referred to as a late-lactose fermenter .
During fermentation of sugar, acid is formed and the pH of the medium drops, changing the color of the pH indicator. Different formulations use different indicators; neutral red is often used when culturing gut bacteria because lactose fermenters turn a deep red when this pH indicator is used. Those bacteria unable to ferment lactose, often referred to as nonlactose fermenters (NLFs) metabolize the peptone in the medium. This releases ammonia, which raises the pH of the medium. Although some authors refer to NLFs as being colorless, in reality they turn neutral red a buffish color.
E. coli O157:H7 differs from most other strains of E. coli in being unable to ferment sorbitol. In sorbitol MacConkey agar, lactose is replaced by sorbitol. Most strains of E. coli ferment sorbitol to produce acid: E. coli O157:H7 can not ferment sorbitol, so this strain uses peptone to grow. This raises the pH of the medium, allowing the O157:H7 strain to be differentiated from other E. coli strains through the action of the pH indicator in the medium.
LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS
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- Ways Of Counting Bacteria - Microbiology@Morningside. Provided by : Wikidot. Located at : http://morningsidemicro.wikidot.com/ways-of-counting-bacteria . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Microbial growth - BioMineWiki. Provided by : http://wiki.biomine.skelleftea.se/wi...crobial_growth . Located at : http://wiki.biomine.skelleftea.se/wiki/index.php/Microbial_growth . License : CC BY: Attribution
- Microbiology and Mycology. Provided by : African Virtual University. Located at : http://oer.avu.org/handle/123456789/36 . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- NZ Level 6: Experimental sciences/Life processes. Provided by : Wikibooks. Located at : en.wikibooks.org/wiki/NZ_Level_6:_Experimental_sciences/Life_processes%23Culturing_Microorganisms. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Microbiology and Mycology. Provided by : African Virtual University. Located at : http://oer.avu.org/handle/123456789/36 . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Microbiological culture. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbiological_culture. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Cell counting. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_counting. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Boundless. Provided by : Boundless Learning. Located at : www.boundless.com//microbiology/definition/hemocytometer. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Boundless. Provided by : Boundless Learning. Located at : www.boundless.com//microbiology/definition/streak-plate. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- EPA GULF BREEZE LABORATORY, THE MICRO-BIOLOGY LAB.nTAKING A BACTERIA COLONY COUNT - NARA - 546274. Provided by : Wikimedia. Located at : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...A_-_546274.jpg. License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright
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- Ways To Count Bacteria - Microbiology@Morningside. Provided by : Wikidot. Located at : http://morningsidemicro.wikidot.com/ways-to-count-bacteria . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Serial Dilutions/counting viable bacteria in a liquid sample - Microbiology@Morningside. Provided by : Wikidot. Located at : http://morningsidemicro.wikidot.com/serial-dilutions . License : CC BY: Attribution
- Bacteriological water analysis. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteriological_water_analysis. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- plate count. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/plate%20count. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
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- Urine cultured on Oxoid Brilliance UTI Agar plate. Provided by : Wikimedia. Located at : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...Agar_plate.jpg. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Bacterial growth. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterial_growth. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Bacteria. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteri...d_reproduction. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
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- Cell counting. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_counting. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- gravimeter. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gravimeter. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- spectrophotometry. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/spectrophotometry. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- flow cytometry. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flow_cytometry. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- EPA GULF BREEZE LABORATORY, THE MICRO-BIOLOGY LAB.nTAKING A BACTERIA COLONY COUNT - NARA - 546274. Provided by : Wikimedia. Located at : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EPA_GULF_BREEZE_LABORATORY,_THE_MICRO-BIOLOGY_LAB._TAKING_A_BACTERIA_COLONY_COUNT_-_NARA_-_546274.jpg. License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright
- Urine cultured on Oxoid Brilliance UTI Agar plate. Provided by : Wikimedia. Located at : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...Agar_plate.jpg. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Nanodrop ND1000 spectrophotometer. Provided by : Wikimedia. Located at : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...photometer.jpg. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Durham tube. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham_tube. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Sorbitol-MacConkey agar. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbitol-MacConkey_agar. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Microbiology. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbiology. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Coliform bacteria. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Coliform_bacteria. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Microbiological culture. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbiological_culture. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
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- Growth medium. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_...erential_media. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Boundless. Provided by : Boundless Learning. Located at : www.boundless.com//microbiolo...erential-media. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
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- Urine cultured on Oxoid Brilliance UTI Agar plate. Provided by : Wikimedia. Located at : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urine_cultured_on_Oxoid_Brilliance_UTI_Agar_plate.jpg. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Nanodrop ND1000 spectrophotometer. Provided by : Wikimedia. Located at : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...photometer.jpg. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- All%20sizes%20%7C%20Cefixime%20Tellurite%20Sorbitol%20MacConkey%20Agar%20(CT-SMAC%20Agar)%20%7C%20Flickr%20-%20Photo%20Sharing!. Provided by : Flickr. Located at : http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathanr...n/photostream/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
Key Points
- Differential media uses the biochemical characteristics of a microorganism growing in the presence of specific nutrients or indicators.
- To measure acid production one can use a pH indicator in the media.
- The Durham tube method is used to detect production of gas by microorganisms.
Key Terms
- differential media : Differential media or indicator media distinguish one microorganism type from another growing on the same media.


27.16: The Hero and the Villain
Benito Cereno and The Heroic Slave may be two novels about slave ships, but they couldn’t represent enslavement any differently. While both can be used to illuminate the cruelty and dehumanization of slavery, Benito Cereno uses irony to appeal to its readers, while The Heroic Slave uses a direct appeal to heroism to entice readers.
The irony in Melville’s B enito Cereno is that, even though he is enslaved, it is difficult for the reader to disentangle the feeling that Babo is a villain. As readers, we tend to empathize with the protagonist of the story – in Benito Cereno’s case, this is Delano . We see Babo as a threat to the protagonist, a white American who has crossed onto an overtaken ship, and seeks to return it to its “rightful owner,” Benito. The story is heroic and compelling, and it is easy to ignore the obvious fact: that Babo and the other enslaved captives on the ship merely want to go home.
Douglass’s The Heroic Slave is a much more direct appeal to the cause of abolitionists. In The Heroic Slave , Washington is clearly the protagonist. In the beginning of the text we get this description of Washington: “His whole appearance betokened Herculean strength; yet there was nothing savage or forbidding in his aspect.” From the get-go, the reader is made to compare Madison to Hercules, and is warned not to see him as savage in any way. This is a direct appeal to white people to humanize Washington by comparing him to a well-known, mythological white hero, and to take Washington as they would “one of their own.” Beyond the description of Washington, we see him also move throughout the story as a hero, and liberate the other enslaved captives on the ship through the aid of a white man and his own ingenuity and resistance.
The different approaches that these two novels take is important when considering their impact on readers during the era they were written. While Benito Cereno can be taken as a covert criticism of slavery due to the way it criminalizes Babo for wanting to escape enslavement, the surface of the novel seems to sympathize with the idea that he is a villain by fighting for freedom. Even though there is a dual message, does that duality matter if the reader uses it solely to defend the dehumanization of people of color? That’s not to say The Heroic Slave isn’t problematic, as it assumes that there needs to be a direct connection to whiteness in order to humanize an enslaved person of color wanting freedom. Overall, these two novels show the loops that authors and readers needed to go through to sympathize with their fellow man just because their skin color may be different than theirs. And while this may have been a necessary “middle-ground” when transitioning away from slavery and oppression of people of color, it shows that what we may consider to be “pro-Abolitionist” literature may be more problematic than it seems.


4.8: Chapter Key Items
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| Key Terms | Definition |
|---|---|
| Bernoulli Trials |
an experiment with the following characteristics:
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| Binomial Experiment |
a statistical experiment that satisfies the following three conditions:
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| Binomial Probability Distribution |
a discrete random variable (RV) that arises from Bernoulli trials; there are a fixed number, \(n\), of independent trials. “Independent” means that the result of any trial (for example, trial one) does not affect the results of the following trials, and all trials are conducted under the same conditions. Under these circumstances the binomial RV \(X\) is defined as the number of successes in n trials. The mean is \(\mu=n p\) and the standard deviation is \(\sigma=\sqrt{n p q}\). The probability of exactly x successes in \(n\) trials is \(P(X=x)=\left(\begin{array}{l}{n} \\ {x}\end{array}\right) p^{x} q^{n-x}\). |
| Geometric Distribution |
a discrete random variable (RV) that arises from the Bernoulli trials; the trials are repeated until the first success. The geometric variable X is defined as the number of trials until the first success. The mean is \(\mu=\frac{1}{p}\) and the standard deviation is \(\sigma = \sqrt{\frac{1}{p}\left(\frac{1}{p}-1\right)}\). The probability of exactly x failures before the first success is given by the formula: \(P(X=x)=p(1-p)^{x-1}\) where one wants to know probability for the number of trials until the first success: the \(x\)th trail is the first success. An alternative formulation of the geometric distribution asks the question: what is the probability of \(x\) failures until the first success? In this formulation the trial that resulted in the first success is not counted. The formula for this presentation of the geometric is: \(P(X=x)=p(1-p)^{x}\) The expected value in this form of the geometric distribution is \(\mu=\frac{1-p}{p}\) The easiest way to keep these two forms of the geometric distribution straight is to remember that p is the probability of success and \((1−p)\) is the probability of failure. In the formula the exponents simply count the number of successes and number of failures of the desired outcome of the experiment. Of course the sum of these two numbers must add to the number of trials in the experiment. |
| Geometric Experiment |
a statistical experiment with the following properties:
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| Hypergeometric Experiment |
a statistical experiment with the following properties:
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| Hypergeometric Probability |
a discrete random variable (RV) that is characterized by:
1. A fixed number of trials.
We sample from two groups of items when we are interested in only one group. \(X\) is defined as the number of successes out of the total number of items chosen. |
| Poisson Probability Distribution |
a discrete random variable (RV) that counts the number of times a certain event will occur in a specific interval; characteristics of the variable: The probability that the event occurs in a given interval is the same for all intervals. The events occur with a known mean and independently of the time since the last event. The distribution is defined by the mean \(\mu\) of the event in the interval. The mean is \(\mu = np\). The standard deviation is \(\sigma=\sqrt{\mu}\). The probability of having exactly \(x\) successes in \(r\) trials is \(P(x)=\frac{\mu^{x} e^{-\mu}}{x !}\). The Poisson distribution is often used to approximate the binomial distribution, when \(n\) is “large” and \(p\) is “small” (a general rule is that \(np\) should be greater than or equal to 25 and \(p\) should be less than or equal to 0.01). |
| Probability Distribution Function (PDF) | a mathematical description of a discrete random variable (RV), given either in the form of an equation (formula) or in the form of a table listing all the possible outcomes of an experiment and the probability associated with each outcome. |
| Random Variable (RV) |
a characteristic of interest in a population being studied; common notation for variables are upper case Latin letters \(X, Y, Z\),...; common notation for a specific value from the domain (set of all possible values of a variable) are lower case Latin letters \(x, y\), and \(z\). For example, if \(X\) is the number of children in a family, then \(x\) represents a specific integer 0, 1, 2, 3,.... Variables in statistics differ from variables in intermediate algebra in the two following ways. The domain of the random variable (RV) is not necessarily a numerical set; the domain may be expressed in words; for example, if \(X =\) hair color then the domain is {black, blond, gray, green, orange}. We can tell what specific value x the random variable \(X\) takes only after performing the experiment. |


8.7: Gene Expression
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- Ying Liu
- City College of San Francisco
Whereas each cell shares the same genome and DNA sequence, each cell does not turn on, or express, the same set of genes. Each cell type needs a different set of proteins to perform its function. Therefore, only a small subset of proteins is expressed in a cell. For the proteins to be expressed, the DNA must be transcribed into RNA and the RNA must be translated into protein. In a given cell type, not all genes encoded in the DNA are transcribed into RNA or translated into protein because specific cells in our body have specific functions. Specialized proteins that make up the eye (iris, lens, and cornea) are only expressed in the eye, whereas the specialized proteins in the heart (pacemaker cells, heart muscle, and valves) are only expressed in the heart. At any given time, only a subset of all of the genes encoded by our DNA are expressed and translated into proteins. The expression of specific genes is a highly regulated process with many levels and stages of control. This complexity ensures the proper expression in the proper cell at the proper time.
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- 3.6.1: Introduction
- Each somatic cell in the body generally contains the same DNA. A few exceptions include red blood cells, which contain no DNA in their mature state, and some immune system cells that rearrange their DNA while producing antibodies. In general, however, the genes that determine whether you have green eyes, brown hair, and how fast you metabolize food are the same in the cells in your eyes and your liver, even though these organs function quite differently.
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- 3.6.2: Regulation of Gene Expression
- The regulation of gene expression conserves energy and space. It would require a significant amount of energy for an organism to express every gene at all times, so it is more energy efficient to turn on the genes only when they are required. In addition, only expressing a subset of genes in each cell saves space because DNA must be unwound from its tightly coiled structure to transcribe and translate the DNA.
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- 3.6.3: Prokaryotic Gene Regulation
- The DNA of prokaryotes is organized into a circular chromosome supercoiled in the nucleoid region of the cell cytoplasm. Proteins that are needed for a specific function, or that are involved in the same biochemical pathway, are encoded together in blocks called operons. For example, all of the genes needed to use lactose as an energy source are coded next to each other in the lactose (or lac) operon.
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- 3.6.4: Eukaryotic Epigenetic Gene Regulation
- Eukaryotic gene expression is more complex than prokaryotic gene expression because the processes of transcription and translation are physically separated. Unlike prokaryotic cells, eukaryotic cells can regulate gene expression at many different levels. Eukaryotic gene expression begins with control of access to the DNA. This form of regulation, called epigenetic regulation, occurs even before transcription is initiated.
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- 3.6.5: Eukaryotic Transcription Gene Regulation
- Like prokaryotic cells, the transcription of genes in eukaryotes requires the actions of an RNA polymerase to bind to a sequence upstream of a gene to initiate transcription. However, unlike prokaryotic cells, the eukaryotic RNA polymerase requires other proteins, or transcription factors, to facilitate transcription initiation. Transcription factors are proteins that bind to the promoter sequence and other regulatory sequences to control the transcription of the target gene.
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- 3.6.6: Eukaryotic Post-transcriptional Gene Regulation
- RNA is transcribed, but must be processed into a mature form before translation can begin. This processing after an RNA molecule has been transcribed, but before it is translated into a protein, is called post-transcriptional modification. As with the epigenetic and transcriptional stages of processing, this post-transcriptional step can also be regulated to control gene expression in the cell. If the RNA is not processed, shuttled, or translated, then no protein will be synthesized.
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- 3.6.7: Eukaryotic Translational and Post-translational Gene Regulation
- After the RNA has been transported to the cytoplasm, it is translated into protein. Control of this process is largely dependent on the RNA molecule. As previously discussed, the stability of the RNA will have a large impact on its translation into a protein. As the stability changes, the amount of time that it is available for translation also changes.
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- 3.6.8: Cancer and Gene Regulation
- Cancer is not a single disease but includes many different diseases. In cancer cells, mutations modify cell-cycle control and cells don’t stop growing as they normally would. Mutations can also alter the growth rate or the progression of the cell through the cell cycle. One example of a gene modification that alters the growth rate is increased phosphorylation of cyclin B, a protein that controls the progression of a cell through the cell cycle and serves as a cell-cycle checkpoint protein.
Thumbnail: Nucleosomes spaced far apart so that the DNA is exposed. Transcription factors can bind, allowing gene expression to occur. (CC BY 4.0 / modified from original; OpenStax ).


6.2B: Oligotrophs
- Examine oligotrophs and their adaptation to nutrient poor environments
An oligotroph is an organism that thrives in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients. They may be contrasted with copiotrophs, which prefer nutritionally rich environments. Oligotrophs are characterized by slow growth, low rates of metabolism, and generally low population density. Oligotrophic environments include deep oceanic sediments, caves, glacial and polar ice, deep subsurface soil, aquifers, ocean waters, and leached soils. An ecosystem or environment is said to be oligotrophic if it offers little to sustain life. The term is commonly utilized to describe environments of water, ice, air, rock or soil with very low nutrient levels. Oligotrophic environments are of special interest for alternative energy sources and survival strategies upon which life could rely. An example of oligotrophic bacterium are Caulobacter crescentus .
Caulobacter crescentus is a Gram-negative, oligotrophic bacterium widely distributed in fresh water lakes and streams. The control circuitry that directs and paces Caulobacter cell cycle progression involves the entire cell operating as an integrated system. The control circuitry monitors the environment and the internal state of the cell, including the cell topology, as it orchestrates activation of cell cycle subsystems and Caulobacter crescentus asymmetric cell division. The proteins of the Caulobacter cell cycle control system and its internal organization are co-conserved across many alphaproteobacteria species, but there are great differences in the regulatory apparatus’ functionality and peripheral connectivity to other cellular subsystems from species to species. The Caulobacter cell cycle control system has been exquisitely optimized by evolutionary selection as a total system for robust operation in the face of internal stochastic noise and environmental uncertainty.
The bacterial cell’s control system has a hierarchical organization. The signaling and the control subsystem interfaces with the environment by means of sensory modules largely located on the cell surface. The genetic network logic responds to signals received from the environment and from internal cell status sensors to adapt the cell to current conditions.
Key Points
- Oligotrophic environments are of special interest for alternative energy sources and survival strategies upon which life could rely.
Key Terms
- oligotroph : An organism capable of living in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients.


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Verbalize, visualize, and sketch number line graphs for inequalities.
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Translate compound inequalities to sketches and vice-versa.
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Find solutions to linear inequalities and visualize as number line graphs.
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Find solutions to absolute value inequalities and visualize as number line graphs.
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4.1: Number Line Graphs
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A real number line is a visual approach to ordering all real numbers. Any real number A plotted left of another real number B has the relation: A < B, or equivalently, B > A. We read aloud, “A is less than B” or equivalently, “B is greater than A.” The solution set to an inequality is the set of real numbers that make the inequality a true statement.
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4.2: Interval Notation
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Inequalities slice and dice the real number line into segments of interest or intervals. An interval is a continuous, uninterrupted subset of real numbers. How can we notate intervals with simplicity? The table below introduces Interval Notation.
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4.3: Solving Linear Inequalities
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Linear equations have just one solution. Linear inequalities have infinitely many solutions, requiring intervals to express solutions. To express solutions using set notation, the curly-brackets are used. The condition of the set is descriptive. The inequality describes the condition. A number must meet the condition to qualify as a solution.
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4.4: Absolute Value Equations and Inequalities as Applied to Distance
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The absolute value function, denoted y = |x|, takes any negative real number input and outputs the positive version of that number. Nonnegative numbers are left unchanged. Measuring distance is a good application to demonstrate the usefulness of this function. Distance is never negative.


12.4: The Nature and Functions of Distribution (Place)
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1. What is the nature and function of distribution (place)?
Distribution is efficiently managing the acquisition of raw materials by the factory and the movement of products from the producer or manufacturer to business-to-business (B2B) users and consumers. It includes many facets, such as location, hours, website presence, logistics, atmospherics, inventory management, supply-chain management, and others. Logistics activities are usually the responsibility of the marketing department and are part of the large series of activities included in the supply chain. A supply chain is the system through which an organization acquires raw material, produces products, and delivers the products and services to its customers. Exhibit 12.2 illustrates a typical supply chain. Supply chain management helps increase the efficiency of logistics service by minimizing inventory and moving goods efficiently from producers to the ultimate users.
On their way from producers to end users and consumers, products pass through a series of marketing entities known as a distribution channel . We will look first at the entities that make up a distribution channel and then examine the functions that channels serve.
Marketing Intermediaries in the Distribution Channel
A distribution channel is made up of marketing intermediaries , or organizations that assist in moving goods and services from producers to end users and consumers. Marketing intermediaries are in the middle of the distribution process, between the producer and the end user. The following marketing intermediaries most often appear in the distribution channel:
- Agents and brokers: Agents are sales representatives of manufacturers and wholesalers, and brokers are entities that bring buyers and sellers together. Both agents and brokers are usually hired on commission basis by either a buyer or a seller. Agents and brokers are go-betweens whose job is to make deals. They do not own or take possession of goods.
- Industrial distributors: Industrial distributors are independent wholesalers that buy related product lines from many manufacturers and sell them to industrial users. They often have a sales force to call on purchasing agents, make deliveries, extend credit, and provide information. Industrial distributors are used in such industries as aircraft manufacturing, mining, and petroleum.
- Wholesalers: Wholesalers are firms that sell finished goods to retailers, manufacturers, and institutions (such as schools and hospitals). Historically, their function has been to buy from manufacturers and sell to retailers.
- Retailers: Retailers are firms that sell goods to consumers and to industrial users for their own consumption.
At the end of the distribution channel are final consumers and industrial users. Industrial users are firms that buy products for internal use or for producing other products or services. They include manufacturers, utilities, airlines, railroads, and service institutions such as hotels, hospitals, and schools.
Exhibit 12.3 shows various ways marketing intermediaries can be linked. For instance, a manufacturer may sell to a wholesaler that sells to a retailer that in turn sells to a customer. In any of these distribution systems, goods and services are physically transferred from one organization to the next. As each takes possession of the products, it may take legal ownership of them. As the exhibit indicates, distribution channels can handle either consumer products or industrial products.
Nontraditional Channels
Often nontraditional channel arrangements help differentiate a firm’s product from the competition. For example, manufacturers may decide to use nontraditional channels such as the internet, mail-order channels, or infomercials to sell products instead of going through traditional retailer channels. Although nontraditional channels may limit a brand’s coverage, they can give a producer serving a niche market a way to gain market access and customer attention without having to establish channel intermediaries. Nontraditional channels can also provide another avenue of sales for larger firms. For example, a London publisher sells short stories through vending machines in the London Underground. Instead of the traditional book format, the stories are printed like folded maps, making them an easy-to-read alternative for commuters.
Kiosks, long a popular method for ordering and registering for wedding gifts, dispersing cash through ATMs, and facilitating airline check-in, are finding new uses. Ethan Allen furniture stores use kiosks as a product locator tool for consumers and salespeople. Kiosks on the campuses of Cheney University allow students to register for classes, see their class schedule and grades, check account balances, and even print transcripts. The general public, when it has access to the kiosks, can use them to gather information about the university.
Small and medium-sized New Orleans food and beverage companies and restaurants banded together to promote their goods and establishments over the internet on a specific website at http://www.nolacuisine.com . They also have found that they can successfully sell their offerings through the websites of the profiled restaurants and food outlets, such as Cochon Butcher ( https://cochonbutcher.com ). With technology rapidly evolving, downloading first-run movies to mobile devices may not be far off. The changing world of technology opens many doors for new, nontraditional distribution channels.
The Functions of Distribution Channels
Why do distribution channels exist? Why can’t every firm sell its products directly to the end user or consumer? Why are go-betweens needed? Channels serve a number of functions.
Channels Reduce the Number of Transactions
Channels make distribution simpler by reducing the number of transactions required to get a product from the manufacturer to the consumer. For example, if there are four students in a course and a professor requires five textbooks (each from a different publisher), a total of 20 transactions would be necessary to accomplish the sale of the books. If the bookstore serves as a go-between, the number of transactions is reduced to nine. Each publisher sells to one bookstore rather than to four students. Each student buys from one bookstore instead of from five publishers (see Exhibit 12.4 ).
Dealing with channel intermediaries frees producers from many of the details of distribution activity. Producers are traditionally not as efficient or as enthusiastic about selling products directly to end users as channel members are. First, producers may wish to focus on production. They may feel that they cannot both produce and distribute in a competitive way. On the other hand, manufacturers are eager to deal directly with giant retailers, such as Walmart, which offer huge sales opportunities to producers.
Channels Ease the Flow of Goods
Channels make distribution easier in several ways. The first is by sorting, which consists of the following:
- Sorting out: Breaking many different items into separate stocks that are similar. Eggs, for instance, are sorted by grade and size. Another example would be different lines of women’s dresses—designer, moderate, and economy lines.
- Accumulating: Bringing similar stocks together into a larger quantity. Twelve large Grade A eggs could be placed in some cartons and 12 medium Grade B eggs in other cartons. Another example would be to merge several lines of women’s dresses from different designers together.
- Allocating: Breaking similar products into smaller and smaller lots. (Allocating at the wholesale level is called breaking bulk .) For instance, a tank-car load of milk could be broken down into gallon jugs. The process of allocating generally is done when the goods are dispersed by region and as ownership of the goods changes.
Without the sorting, accumulating, and allocating processes, modern society would not exist. Instead, there would be home-based industries providing custom or semicustom products to local markets. In short, society would return to a much lower level of consumption.
A second way channels ease the flow of goods is by locating buyers for merchandise. A wholesaler must find the right retailers to sell a profitable volume of merchandise. A sporting-goods wholesaler, for instance, must find the retailers who are most likely to reach sporting-goods consumers. Retailers have to understand the buying habits of consumers and put stores where consumers want and expect to find the merchandise. Every member of a distribution channel must locate buyers for the products it is trying to sell.
Channel members also store merchandise so that goods are available when consumers want to buy them. The high cost of retail space often means many goods are stored by the wholesaler or manufacturer.
CONCEPT CHECK
- List and define the marketing intermediaries that make up a distribution channel.
- Provide an example of a strategic channel alliance.
- How do channels reduce the number of transactions?


7.7: Assignment- Regional Integration
Regional Integration Module
At its most basic level, countries want to encourage the growth of their domestic businesses by expanding trade with other countries—primarily by promoting exports and encouraging investment in their nations. Borders that have fewer rules and regulations can help businesses expand easier and more cheaply. While this sounds great in theory, economists as well as businesspeople often ignore the realities of the political and sociocultural factors that impact relationships between countries, businesses, and people.
Discussion Board Assignment:
Based on what you have read so far about “Culture and Business” select one regional trading bloc. (There is a link provided to help you identify a trading bloc). You may want to use Hofstedes cultural dimensions at http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html
Your discussion should address the following questions:
- Discuss the economic motivations for the group of countries in the trading bloc to form an agreement.
- Do you think the countries in the trading bloc you selected are likely to have cross-cultural similarities or differences?
- Do you think countries with distinctively different cultural, historical, and economic histories can effectively enter into a trade agreement?
- Assignment: Regional Integration. Authored by : Linda Williams. Provided by : Tidewater Community College. Located at : http://www.tcc.edu . Project : Z Degree Project. License : CC BY: Attribution


3.4: The Leadership Process
- What are the processes associated with people coming to leadership positions?
Leadership is a process, a complex and dynamic exchange relationship built over time between leader and follower and between leader and the group of followers who depend on each other to attain a mutually desired goal (Hollandar & Julian, 1969). There are several key components to this “working relationship”: the leader, the followers, the context (situation), the leadership process per se, and the consequences (outcomes) (see Exhibit 3.3) (Stogdill, 1948). Across time, each component interacts with and influences the other components, and whatever consequences (such as leader–follower trust) are created influence future interactions. As any one of the components changes, so too will leadership (Murphy, 1941).
Exhibit 3.3 The Leadership Process (Attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC-BY 4.0 license)
The Leader
Leaders are people who take charge of or guide the activities of others. They are often seen as the focus or orchestrator of group activity, the people who set the group's tone so it can move forward to attain its goals. Leaders provide the group with what is required to fulfill its maintenance and task-related needs. (Later in the chapter, we will return to the “leader as a person” as part of our discussion of the trait approach to leadership.)
Exhibit 3.4 New York Philharmonic @ UN The New York Philharmonic, conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert, paid special tribute in the General Assembly Hall to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as a tribute to his 10-year term. Gilbert is the formal leader of the New York Philharmonic.
The Follower
The follower is not a passive player in the leadership process. Edwin Hollander, after many years of studying leadership, suggested that the follower is the most critical factor in any leadership event (Hollander, 1964). It is, after all, the follower who perceives the situation and comes to define the needs that the leader must fulfill. In addition, it is the follower who either rejects leadership or accepts acts of leadership by surrendering his power to the leader to diminish task uncertainty, to define and manage the meaning of the situation to the follower, and to orchestrate the follower’s action in pursuit of goal attainment.
The follower’s personality and readiness to follow determine the style of leadership that will be most effective. For example, individuals with an internal locus of control are much more responsive to participative leadership styles than individuals with an external locus of control (House & Mitchell, 1974). Individuals with an authoritarian personality are highly receptive to the effectiveness of directive acts of leadership (Yukl, 1971). It is the followers’ expectations, as well as their performance-based needs, that determine what a leader must do to be effective.
The strength of the follower’s self-concept has also been linked to the leadership process. High-self-esteem individuals tend to have a strong sense of self-efficacy, that is, a generalized belief they can be successful in difficult situations. They, therefore, tend to be strongly motivated to perform and persist in the face of adversity (Gardner & Pierce, 1998). The high-self-esteem follower tends to be responsive to participative styles of leadership. Low-self-esteem individuals, who doubt their competence, worthiness, and ability to succeed in difficult situations, function better with supportive forms of leadership. This helps them deal with the stress, frustration, and anxiety that often emerge with difficult tasks. Followers without a readiness to follow, limited by their inability to perform and lack of motivation and commitment, usually need more directive forms of leadership (Hersey & Blanchard, 1988).
Follower behavior plays a major role in determining what behaviors leaders engage in. For example, followers who perform at high levels tend to cause their leaders to be considerate in their treatment and to play a less directive role. Followers who are poor performers, on the other hand, tend to cause their leaders to be less warm toward them and to be more directive and controlling in their leadership style (Greene, 1975).
The Context
Situations make demands on a group and its members, and not all situations are the same. Context refers to the situation that surrounds the leader and the followers. Situations are multi-dimensional. We discuss the context as it pertains to leadership in greater detail later in this chapter, but for now, let’s look at it in terms of the task and task environment that confront the group. Is the task structured or unstructured? Are the goals of the group clear or ambiguous? Is there agreement or disagreement about goals? Is there a body of knowledge that can guide task performance? Is the task boring? Frustrating? Intrinsically satisfying? Is the environment complex or simple, stable or unstable? These factors create different contexts within which leadership unfolds, and each factor places a different set of needs and demands on the leader and the followers.
The Process
The process of leadership is separate and distinct from the leader (the person who occupies a central role in the group). The process is a complex, interactive, dynamic working relationship between leader and followers. This working relationship, built over time, is directed toward fulfilling the group’s maintenance and task needs. Part of the process consists of an exchange relationship between the leader and follower. The leader provides a resource directed toward fulfilling the group’s needs, and the group gives compliance, recognition, and esteem to the leader. To the extent that leadership is the exercise of influence, part of the leadership process is captured by the surrender of power by the followers and the exercise of influence over the followers by the leader (Hollander & Julian, 1969). Thus, the leader influences the followers and the followers influence the leader, the context influences the leader and the followers, and both leader and followers influence the context.
The Consequences
Several outcomes or consequences of the leadership process unfold between leader, follower, and situation. At the group level, two outcomes are important:
- Have the group’s maintenance needs been fulfilled? That is, do members of the group like and get along with one another, do they have a shared set of norms and values, and have they developed a good working relationship? Have individuals’ needs been fulfilled as reflected in attendance, motivation, performance, satisfaction, citizenship, trust, and maintenance of the group membership?
- Have the group’s task needs been met? That is, there are also important consequences of the leadership process for individuals: attendance, motivation, performance, satisfaction, citizenship, trust, and maintenance of their group membership.
The leader–member exchange (LMX) theory of the leadership process focuses attention on consequences associated with the leadership process. The theory views leadership as consisting of several dyadic relationships linking the leader with a follower. A leader-follower relationship tends to develop quickly and remains relatively stable over time. The quality of the relationship is reflected by the degree of mutual trust, loyalty, support, respect, and obligation. High- and low-quality relationships between a leader and each of his followers produce in and out groups among the followers. Members of the in-group become key players, and high-quality exchange relationships tend to be associated with higher levels of performance, commitment, and satisfaction than low-quality exchange relationships (Graen & Wakabayashi, 1994). Attitudinal similarity and extroversion appear to be associated with a high-quality leader-member relationship (Schriesheim et al., 2000).
The nature of the leadership process varies substantially depending on the leader, the followers, and the situation and context. Thus, leadership is the function of an interaction between the leader, the follower, and the context.
The leadership context for the leader of a group of assembly line production workers differs from the context for the leader of a self-managing production team and from the context confronted by the lead scientists in a research laboratory. The leadership tactics that work in the first context might fail miserably in the latter two.
How a Start-Up Finds the Right Leader
Startups, by their very nature, require innovation to bring new products and services to market. Along with establishing a new brand or product, the leader has to develop the relationships and processes that make a company succeed or risk its early demise. While leading an established firm has its challenges, a start-up requires even more from a leader.
How critical is leadership to a start-up? Ask the four co-founders of the now-defunct PYP (Pretty Young Professionals), a website founded as a source of information for young professional women. What began as four young professional women working on a new start-up ended with hurt feelings and threats of legal action. In 2010, Kathryn Minshew, Amanda Pouchot, Caroline Ghosn, and Alex Cavoulacos decided to create the website, and Minshew was named CEO (Cohan, 2011a). Lines blurred about Minshew’s authority and the website's ultimate look, feel, and direction. Ideals about shared leadership, where the company was going, and how it would get there ultimately got lost in the power shuffle. By June 2011, passwords were changed and legal actions began, and in August Minshew and Cavoulacos left altogether (Cohan, 2011b).
When the legal haggling from PYP was over, Alex Cavoulacos and Kathryn Minshew, joined by Melissa McCreery, tried again. But this time, rather than hoping for the best, they put a leadership plan in place. Minshew was named CEO of the new start-up, The Daily Muse, with Cavoulacos as chief operating officer and McCreery as editor-in-chief. Rather than trusting to luck, the three co-founders based their team positions on strengths and personalities. Cavoulacos and McCreery agreed that Minshew’s outgoing personality and confidence made her the proper choice as CEO (Casserly, 2013).
No trait guarantees a person can lead a start-up from idea to greatness, but a survey of successful entrepreneurs shows some common traits. According to David Barbash, a partner at Boston-based law firm Posternak Blankstein & Lund LLP, personality is paramount: “You can have great technology but if you’re not a great communicator it may die in the lab.” A startup needs a leader who is confident and willing, if not eager, to face the future. According to Michelle Randall, a principal of Enriching Leadership International, start-up CEOs have to be willing to fundraise and not be too proud to beg. Peter Shankman, an entrepreneur and angel investor, says leaders must be willing to make the hard decisions, even risking being the bad guy. (Casserly, 2013)
Gary Vaynerchuk credits his success to six factors. An angel investor, social media marketer, and early social media adopter, Vaynerchuk leveraged YouTube in its early years to market wine from the family’s liquor store, eventually increasing sales from $3 million to $60 million a year (Clifford, 2017). Gary believes good leaders recognize that they don’t dictate to the market but rather respond to where it is going. They respect and believe in other people and have a strong work ethic, which Vaynerchuk called a “lunch pail work ethic”: they are willing to put in long hours because they love the work, not the perks. He also stresses that he loves technology and doesn’t fear it, is obsessed with the youth of today, and is optimistic about people and the future of humanity (Vaynerchuk, 2017).
Leading a startup requires more than simple management. It requires the right leader for the right company at the right time, which means matching the right management skills with the proper flexibility and drive to keep it all together and moving in the right direction.
- Why would start-up leaders need different leadership qualities than someone managing an established firm?
- Vaynerchuk has been quoted as saying that if you live for Friday, get a different job. How does this apply to successful entrepreneurs?
Sources:
Casserly, M. (2013). Rocks, paper, CEO: Finding the best leader for your startup. Forbes .
Clifford, C. (2017). Self-made millionaire Gary Vaynerchuk: This is the real secret to success. CNBC .
Cohan, P. (2011a). A cautionary tale: Friendship, business ethics, and bad breakups (Acts I and II). Forbes .
Cohan, P. (2011b). A cautionary tale: Friendship, business ethics, and bad breakups (Acts III and IV). Forbes .
Vaynerchuk, G. (2017). What makes me a great CEO. https://garyvaynerchuk.com/
- What are the processes associated with people coming to leadership positions?