10.6: How can students be motivated both intrinsically and extrinsically?
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by Christine Stanton
Learning Objectives
• Define, understand and give examples of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
• Understand opposing theories on motivation
• Describe Self Determinaton Theory and provide examples of how to meet students' needs
Defining Motivation: What makes you move?
mo•ti•va•tion : the act or process of motivating b: the condition of being motivated: a motivating force, stimulus, or influence : INCENTIVE , DRIVE ( Merriam Webster, 2008)
The subject of motivation has been researched and analyzed by countless scholars in various fields such as psychology, philosophy and education. What makes people behave in certain ways? What makes them “move”? In the 1940's, a pioneer of motivation theory, Abraham Maslow, described his own theory on human motivation. He proposed that people have a hierarchy of needs that motivate them to do all things (Maslow, 1946). These basic needs must be met in order of precedence, meaning that the needs at the bottom of the hierarchy must be met before the needs at the top of the list can be (Maslow, 1946).
In this model, certain needs must be met in order for a person to be motivated to learn. Later research expands on this idea, as noted in the following sections. In Educational Psychology, it is a common belief that teachers can “motivate” their students by providing an environment or situation that may enhance learning. Researchers have been studying motivation for several decades, attempting to understand how to use motivation to specifically benefit the learning process. Motivation has been classified into two generally accepted forms:
• Intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from within the student (e.g. contentment, enjoyment, pride, sense of accomplishment, responsibility)
• Extrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from an external source (e.g. tangible rewards, trophies, stickers, gifts, applause, praise)
Instrinsic versus Extrinsic?
So, which is better for use in the classroom? Is one more effective than the other? Or can both be used?
On one hand, some could say that extrinsic rewards are more effective and reflective of the "real world" - people aren't motivated to work without paychecks. So does extrinsic motivation prepare students for the "real world"? Or are we just bribing them?
Because intrinsic motivation comes from within, it is considered by many to be the more effective of the two when it comes to learning. Intrinsic motivation can foster life long excitement for learning, resulting in students who are eager to learn new things. Their experience is more meaningful and they go deeper in their learning to fully understand it. It helps develop a student’s attitude towards education and ensures more lasting success. Of course, we all want our children to want to go to school and learn because they enjoy learning. But what about subjects that just don't interest them or that are difficult for them to master? Is it possibly to be intrinsically motivated for all things?
We're back at our question.....which works better? Intrinsic or Extrinsic Rewards? Let's look a little closer at each...
Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivation can take the form of anything that doesn't come from within a person. Examples range from a smiley face on a paper or a "great job" sticker to a hefty pay raise or bonus for an adult. It can be getting the approval of a teacher or being accepted by peers. Extrinsic motivation can also be negative in the form of punishment or taking rewards away.
Extrinsic motivation may be more effective when a student has a less-desirable task ahead of them. For example, the student who dislikes math, might be more motivated to do well on the math test to get a good grade. Many argue, however, that once the reward is gone, the student will not continue to be motivated (Vockell, 2008). The predominance of researchers seem to agree that intrinsic motivation is more desirable, encouraging a more lasting desire to learn; however, extrinsic motivation is sometimes more popular when the task is not as appealing or if the technique seems to be more effective for the task at hand and for certain types of learners. For example, if Susan hates her math homework and is simply not interested in doing it, it might give her incentive to do her homework if she knows she will get a good grade, a reward or praise from her teacher.
Intrinsic Rewards & Self Determination Theory
Many believe that motivation is the most powerful when it comes from within, rather than from outside forces. Some go farther to describe one or more factors that can promote intrinsic motivation. Some of these factors are challenge, curiosity, control, fantasy, competition, cooperation, or recognition (Vockell, 2008).
Self Determination Theory (SDT) started evolving over 30 years ago with the research of Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan. The basis of their theory is that people have three basic needs: the need for a sense of autonomy, the need for relatedness (or belonging), and the need for competence (Deci & Ryan. 1991). Many theories on teaching motivation have centered on meeting these three needs:
1. Sense of Autonomy - Students need to feel a sense of control and self-determination
2. Sense of Belonging – Students need to feel accepted by peers and teachers
3. Sense of Competence – Students need to feel capable of succeeding
SDT proposes that all individuals have a “seed” for learning and with the right nutrients or environment, they can be encouraged to be self motivated (or intrinsically motivated) (Deci & Ryan, 1991). This implies that if all these basic needs are met for our students, then their natural curiosity and thirst for learning can shine through.
Note
To be self determined is to endorse one's actions at the highest level of reflection. When self determined people experience a sense of freedom to do what is interesting, personally important, and vitalizing. - Edward L. Deci & Richard M. Ryan
Deci & Ryan went even further to claim that extrinsic motivation can undermine intrinsic motivation (Deci et al. 2001). In 1994, Cameron & Pierce challenged this theory saying that the effect of extrinsic rewards was "minimal and inconsequential." Deci and Ryan countered this claim with newer research in 1995 which proved that "tangible rewards do indeed have a substantial undermining effect" (Deci et al. 2001).
Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Image 2, (Adapted from Anderman & Leake, 2005)
An Argument Against Motivation Theories
On the opposite end of the educational motivation research field are some that believe that motivation theories are not valid, such as Steven Reiss. Reiss, a professor of pscyology at Ohio State University, claims that Deci & Ryan and other similarly minded researchers are "taking many diverse human needs and motivations, putting them into just two categories, and then saying one type of motivation is better than another. But there is no real evidence that intrinsic motivation even exists" (Reiss, 2008). Reiss believes that different people can be motivated in different ways and there is no right or wrong way to motivate. "Individuals differ enormously in what makes them happy - for some competition, winning and wealth are the greatest sources of happiness, but for others, feeling competent or socializing may be more satisfying. The point is that you can't say some motivations, like money (or other tangible rewards), are inherently inferior." While some children are "inherently curious", other children are not as much so, for which extrinsic rewards may be more effective. Reiss further argues that extrinsic rewards may encourage students to pursue activities that they would normally have shyed away from.
OVERVIEW
Your third grade class is very active today. The energy level is high as the kids get ready for an end-of-the-day holiday party. But before they can go, they need to finish an important history lesson which they will be quizzed on. You know getting their attention will be hard. What do you do? Do you offer them all a "homework-free" night as a reward for paying attention?  Or if you make it a fun, interactive game will they all jump in and get the job done because they'll be enjoying themselves? Or perhaps giving them the choice of giving up some of their recess in order to spend more time on the history lesson would encourage them to make good choices?
People can be motivated differently for a variety of reasons, from age to culture to special needs. As teachers, we will each have various scenarious where one might work better than another or a combination of the two is a better approach. While many of our actions are motivated extrinsically, intrinsic motivation must be there as well to encourage long term interest and learning. Being aware of different theories (such as intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, self-determination theory) and being flexibile in our methods will be important in order to be the most effective teachers we can be.
References
Anderman, L. & Leake, V. (2005). The ABCs of Motivation: An Alternative Framework for Teaching Preservice Teachers about Motivation. The Clearing House, 78(5), 192-196.
Deci, E.L. & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self Determination Theory Overview. Retrieved Sept. 18, 2008 from http://www.psych.rochester.edu/SDT/theory.html
Deci, E. L., Koestner, R.,& Ryan, R. M. (2001). Extrinsic Rewards and Intrisic Motivation: Reconsidered Once Again. Review of Education Research, 71(1), 1-27.
Grabmeier, J. (2008). Intrinsic Motivation Doesn't Exist, Researcher Says. Retrieved Sept. 18, 2008 from Ohio State Universary Research News Website: researchnews.osu.edu/archive/inmotiv.htm
Lepper, M., Corpus, J., & Iyengar, S. (2005). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivational Orientations in the Classrooms: Age Differences and Academic Correlates. Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 97 (2), 184-196.
Maslow, A. H. (1946). A Theory of Human Motivation. In P. Harriman (Ed.), Twentieth Century Psychology: Recent Developments in Psychology (pp. 22–48). New York: Philosophical Library.
Motivation (2008). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary . Retrieved Sept. 18, 2008 from Merriam Webster Online Dictionary: http://www.merriam-webster.com
Vallerand, R.J., Pelletier, L.G., Blais, M.R., Briere, N.M., Senecal, C. & Vallieres, E.F. (1992) The Academic Motivation Scale: A Measure of Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Amotivation in Education. Educational and Psychological Measurement (52), 1003-1017.
Vockell, E. (2008). Education Psychology: A Practical Approach. Retrieved September 18, 2008 from education.calumet.perdue.edu/Vockell/EdPsyBook


12.2: Digestive System Processes and Regulation
| Functions of the Digestive Organs | ||
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| Organ | Major functions | Other functions |
| Mouth |
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| Pharynx |
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| Esophagus |
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| Stomach |
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| Small intestine |
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| Accessory organs |
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| Large intestine |
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Digestive Processes
The processes of digestion include six activities: ingestion, propulsion, mechanical or physical digestion, chemical digestion, absorption, and defecation.
The first of these processes, ingestion, refers to the entry of food into the alimentary canal through the mouth. There, the food is chewed and mixed with saliva, which contains enzymes that begin breaking down the carbohydrates in the food plus some lipid digestion via lingual lipase. Chewing increases the surface area of the food and allows an appropriately sized bolus to be produced.
Food leaves the mouth when the tongue and pharyngeal muscles propel it into the esophagus. This act of swallowing, the last voluntary act until defecation, is an example of propulsion, which refers to the movement of food through the digestive tract. It includes both the voluntary process of swallowing and the involuntary process of peristalsis. Peristalsis consists of sequential, alternating waves of contraction and relaxation of alimentary wall smooth muscles, which act to propel food along. These waves also play a role in mixing food with digestive juices.
Digestion includes both mechanical and chemical processes. Mechanical digestion is a purely physical process that does not change the chemical nature of the food. Instead, it makes the food smaller to increase both surface area and mobility. It includes mastication, or chewing, as well as tongue movements that help break food into smaller bits and mix food with saliva. Although there may be a tendency to think that mechanical digestion is limited to the first steps of the digestive process, it occurs after the food leaves the mouth, as well. The mechanical churning of food in the stomach serves to further break it apart and expose more of its surface area to digestive juices, creating an acidic “soup” called chyme. Segmentation, which occurs mainly in the small intestine, consists of localized contractions of circular muscle of the muscularis layer of the alimentary canal. These contractions isolate small sections of the intestine, moving their contents back and forth while continuously subdividing, breaking up, and mixing the contents. By moving food back and forth in the intestinal lumen, segmentation mixes food with digestive juices and facilitates absorption.
In chemical digestion, starting in the mouth, digestive secretions break down complex food molecules into their chemical building blocks (for example, proteins into separate amino acids). These secretions vary in composition, but typically contain water, various enzymes, acids, and salts. The process is completed in the small intestine.
Food that has been broken down is of no value to the body unless it enters the bloodstream and its nutrients are put to work. This occurs through the process of absorption, which takes place primarily within the small intestine. There, most nutrients are absorbed from the lumen of the alimentary canal into the bloodstream through the epithelial cells that make up the mucosa. Lipids are absorbed into lacteals and are transported via the lymphatic vessels to the bloodstream (the subclavian veins near the heart). The details of these processes will be discussed later.
In defecation, the final step in digestion, undigested materials are removed from the body as feces.
In some cases, a single organ is in charge of a digestive process. For example, ingestion occurs only in the mouth and defecation only in the anus. However, most digestive processes involve the interaction of several organs and occur gradually as food moves through the alimentary canal.
Some chemical digestion occurs in the mouth. Some absorption can occur in the mouth and stomach, for example, alcohol and aspirin.


5.3: Calculating in Other Bases
Introduction and Basics
During the previous discussions, we have been referring to positional base systems. In this section of the chapter, we will explore exactly what a base system is and what it means if a system is “positional.” We will do so by first looking at our own familiar, base-ten system and then deepen our exploration by looking at other possible base systems. In the next part of this section, we will journey back to Mayan civilization and look at their unique base system, which is based on the number 20 rather than the number 10.
A base system is a structure within which we count. The easiest way to describe a base system is to think about our own base-ten system. The base-ten system, which we call the “decimal” system, requires a total of ten different symbols/digits to write any number. They are, of course, 0, 1, 2, ….. 9.
The decimal system is also an example of a positional base system, which simply means that the position of a digit gives its place value. Not all civilizations had a positional system even though they did have a base with which they worked.
Below is the number line for Base 10 . Notice how it is broken up into rows. When you get to the last digit - in this case 9 - you have to add one to the next place value to the left.
There are an infinite amount of different bases and an infinite amount of corresponding number lines. Below are three different examples, written like we have Base 10 above.
Base 2 Number Line (reads from left to right, then top to bottom). The fifth number in the number line is \(101_{\text {two}}\).
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0 |
1 |
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10 |
11 |
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100 |
101 |
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110 |
111 |
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1000 |
1001 |
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1010 |
1011 |
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1100 |
1101 |
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1110 |
1111 |
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10000 |
10001 |
Base 8 Number Line (reads from left to right, then top to bottom). The \(10^{\text {th}}\) number is \(12_{\text {eight}}\).
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0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
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10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
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20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
Base 12 Number Line (reads from left to right, then top to bottom). The \(15^{\text {th}}\) number is \(13_{\text {twelve}}\).
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0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
A |
B |
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10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
1A |
1B |
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20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
2A |
2B |
Where are different bases used?
Base 2 : (Binary) Computers use Base 2, just zeros and ones for all of their programming. Your phone operates in only zeros (OFF) and ones (ON).
Base 5: (Quinary) This was one of the very first systems of counting, since we have five fingers.
Base 8: (Octal) Think of Base 8 as the mathematics for the Cartoon Universe. Many Cartoons have only eight fingers. We have 10 fingers and live in a Base 10 universe. Cartoon have eight fingers and live in a Base 8 universe. The Cartoon character does not have a character for eight or nine items, as we do in our universe.
Base 12: (Duodecimal) Base 12 is rare to find within history. However, we currently have 12 hours on the clock and 12 months in the year. There were a few tribes in Africa and India which used the duodecimal (base 12) system.
Base 16: (Hexadecimal) Base 16 is used in computers to represent long binary values. It allows you to store more information using less space.
Base 20: (Vigesimal) The Mayans used a Base 20 system, and invented the concept of zero.
Base 60: (Sexagesimal) An extreme example is base 60, which was used by the Babylonians (about 4000 years ago) which is now current day Iraq. They had characters for 1 – 59 items. (The concept of “zero” was not discovered yet.) However, this is where our current concept of 60 minutes and 60 seconds come from.
Converting From Other Bases To Base 10
In our base-ten system, a number like 5,783,216 has meaning to us because we are familiar with the system and its places. As we know, there are six ones, since there is a 6 in the ones place. Likewise, there are seven “hundred thousands,” since the 7 resides in that place. Each digit has a value that is explicitly determined by its position within the number. We make a distinction between digit, which is just a symbol such as 5, and a number, which is made up of one or more digits. We can take this number and assign each of its digits a value. One way to do this is with a table, which follows:
\(\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|}
\hline 5,000,000 & =5 \times 1,000,000 & =5 \times 10^{6} & \text { Five million } \\
\hline+700,000 & =7 \times 100,000 & =7 \times 10^{5} & \text { Seven hundred thousand } \\
\hline+80,000 & =8 \times 10,000 & =8 \times 10^{4} & \text { Eighty thousand } \\
\hline+3,000 & =3 \times 1000 & =3 \times 10^{3} & \text { Three thousand } \\
\hline+200 & =2 \times 100 & =2 \times 10^{2} & \text { Two hundred } \\
\hline+10 & =1 \times 10 & =1 \times 10^{1} & \text { Ten } \\
\hline+6 & =6 \times 1 & =6 \times 10^{0} & \text { Six } \\
\hline 5,783,216 & \text { Five million, seven hundred eighty-three thousand, two hundred sixteen } \\
\hline
\end{array}\)
From the third column in the table we can see that each place is simply a multiple of ten. Of course, this makes sense given that our base is ten. The digits that are multiplying each place simply tell us how many of that place we have. We are restricted to having at most 9 in any one place before we have to “carry” over to the next place. We cannot, for example, have 11 in the hundreds place. Instead, we would carry 1 to the thousands place and retain 1 in the hundreds place. This comes as no surprise to us since we readily see that 11 hundreds is the same as one thousand, one hundred. Carrying is a pretty typical occurrence in a base system.
However, base-ten is not the only option we have. Practically any positive integer greater than or equal to 2 can be used as a base for a number system. Such systems can work just like the decimal system except the number of symbols will be different and each position will depend on the base itself.
For example, let’s suppose we adopt a base-five system. The only modern digits we would need for this system are 0,1,2,3 and 4. What are the place values in such a system? To answer that, we start with the ones place, as most base systems do. However, if we were to count in this system, we could only get to four (4) before we had to jump up to the next place. Our base is 5, after all! What is that next place that we would jump to? It would not be tens, since we are no longer in base-ten. We’re in a different numerical world. As the base-ten system progresses from 10 0 to10 1 , so the base-five system moves from 5 0 to 5 1 = 5. Thus, we move from the ones to the fives.
After the fives, we would move to the 5 2 place, or the twenty fives. Note that in base-ten, we would have gone from the tens to the hundreds, which is, of course, 10 2 .
Let’s take an example and build a table. Consider the number 30412 in base five. We will write this as 30412 5 , where the subscript 5 is not part of the number but indicates the base we’re using. First off, note that this is NOT the number “thirty thousand, four hundred twelve.” We must be careful not to impose the base-ten system on this number. Here’s what our table might look like. We will use it to convert this number to our more familiar base-ten system.
\(\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|}
\hline & \text { Base 5 } & \text { This column coverts to base-ten } & \text { In Base-Ten } \\
\hline & 3 \times 5^{4} & =3 \times 625 & =1875 \\
\hline+ & 0 \times 5^{3} & =0 \times 125 & =0 \\
\hline+ & 4 \times 5^{2} & =4 \times 25 & =100 \\
\hline+ & 1 \times 5^{1} & =1 \times 5 & =5 \\
\hline+ & 2 \times 5^{0} & =2 \times 1 & =2 \\
\hline & & \text { Total } & 1982 \\
\hline
\end{array}\)
As you can see, the number 30412 5 is equivalent to 1,982 in base-ten. We will say \(30412_{5}=1982_{10}\). All of this may seem strange to you, but that’s only because you are so used to the only system that you’ve ever seen.
Convert \(6234_{7}\) to a base 10 number.
Solution
We first note that we are given a base-7 number that we are to convert. Thus, our places will start at the ones ( \(7^{0}\) ), and then move up to the \(7^{\prime} s, 49^{\prime} s\left(7^{2}\right),\) etc. Here's the breakdown:
\(\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|}
\hline & \text { Base 7 } & \text { Convert } & \text { Base 10 } \\
\hline & =6 \times 7^{3} & =6 \times 343 & =2058 \\
\hline+ & =2 \times 7^{2} & =2 \times 49 & =98 \\
\hline+ & =3 \times 7 & =3 \times 7 & =21 \\
\hline+ & =4 \times 1 & =4 \times 1 & =4 \\
\hline & & \text { Total } & 2181 \\
\hline
\end{array}\)
\( \text { Thus } 6234_{7}=2181_{10} \)
Convert \(41065_7\) to a base 10 number.
- Answer
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\(41065_{7}=9994_{10}\)
Converting From Base 10 To Other Bases
Converting from an unfamiliar base to the familiar decimal system is not that difficult once you get the hang of it. It’s only a matter of identifying each place and then multiplying each digit by the appropriate power. However, going the other direction can be a little trickier. Suppose you have a base-ten number and you want to convert to base-five. When converting from base-ten to some other base, it is helpful to determine the highest power of the base that will divide into the given number at least once.
- Find the highest power of the base b that will divide into the given number at least once and then divide.
- Write down the whole number part, then use the remainder from division in the next step.
- Repeat step two, dividing by the next highest power of the base b, writing down the whole number part (including 0), and using the remainder in the next step.
- Continue until the remainder is smaller than the base. This last remainder will be in the “ones” place.
- Collect all your whole number parts to get your number in base \(b\) notation.
Convert the base-ten number 348 to base-five.
Solution
The powers of five are:
\(\begin{array}{l}
5^{0}=1 \\
5^{1}=5 \\
5^{2}=25 \\
5^{3}=125 \\
5^{4}=625
\end{array}\)
Etc..
since \(348\) is smaller than \(625,\) but bigger than \(125,\) we see that \(5^{3}=125\) is the highest power of five present in \(348 .\) So we divide 125 into 348 to see how many of them there are:
\(348 \div 125=2\) with remainder 98
We write down the whole part, 2, and continue with the remainder. There are 98 left over, so we see how many 25’s (the next smallest power of five) there are in the remainder:
\(98 \div 25=3\) with remainder 23
We write down the whole part, 2, and continue with the remainder. There are 23 left over, so we look at the next place, the 5’s:
\(23 \div 5=4\) with remainder 3
This leaves us with 3, which is less than our base, so this number will be in the “ones” place. We are ready to assemble our base-five number:
\( 348=\left(2 \times 5^{3}\right)+\left(3 \times 5^{2}\right)+\left(4 \times 5^{1}\right)+(3 \times 1) \)
Hence, our base-five number is \(2343 .\) We'll say that \(348_{10}=2343_{5}\)
Convert the base-ten number 4509 to base-seven.
Solution
The powers of 7 are:
\(\begin{array}{l}
7^{0}=1 \\
7^{1}=7 \\
7^{2}=49 \\
7^{3}=343 \\
7^{4}=2401 \\
7^{5}=16807
\end{array}\)
Etc…
The highest power of 7 that will divide into 4509 is \(7^{4}=2401\)
With division, we see that it will go in 1 time with a remainder of \(2108 .\) So we have 1 in the \(7^{4}\) place.
The next power down is \(7^{3}=343,\) which goes into 2108 six times with a new remainder of \(50 .\) So we have 6 in the \(7^{3}\) place.
The next power down is \(7^{2}=49\), which goes into 50 once with a new remainder of \(1 .\) So there is a 1 in the \(7^{2}\) place.
The next power down is \(7^{1}\) but there was only a remainder of \(1,\) so that means there is a 0 in the 7 's place and we still have 1 as a remainder.
That, of course, means that we have 1 in the ones place.
\(\begin{array}{ll}
4509 \div 7^{4}= & 1 \quad \mathrm{R} \quad 2108 \\
2108 \div 7^{3}= & 6 \quad \mathrm{R} \quad 50 \\
50 \div 7^{2}= & 1 \quad \mathrm{R} \quad 1 \\
1 \div 7^{1}= & 0 \quad \mathrm{R} \quad 1 \\
1 \div 7^{0}= & 1 \\
4509_{10}=16101_7
\end{array}\)
Putting all of this together means that \(4509_{10}=16101_{7}\)
Convert \(657_{10}\) to a base 4 number.
- Answer
-
\(657_{10}=22101_{4}\)
Convert \(8377_{10}\) to a base 8 number.
- Answer
-
\(8377_{10}=20271_{8} \)
Operations In Other Bases
- Rewrite the problem vertically (line up the place values).
- Add the rightmost digits first (the ones place).
- Represent the sum in the base you are working with and "carry" as if you are adding in Base 10.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 with the next place value higher until you get to the leftmost digit.
\[\begin{aligned}
5415_{6}+3042_{6} \\
\\
5415_{6} \\
+3042_{6} \\
\hline
12501_{6}
\end{aligned} \nonumber \]
To help us through this addition, here is a table of all possible sums of single-digits in base 6:
\(\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|l|}
\hline + & 0 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 \\
\hline 0 & 0 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 \\
\hline 1 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 10 \\
\hline 2 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 10 & 11 \\ \hline 3 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 10 & 11 & 12 \\ \hline 4 & 4 & 5 & 10 & 11 & 12 & 13\\ \hline 5 & 5 & 10 & 11 & 12 & 13 & 14 \\
\hline
\end{array}\)
\(5+2=7\) which is \(11_{6}\) so we "carry" the left 1 and put the right 1 in the ones place in the sum.
\(1+1+4=6\) which is \(10_{6}\) so we "carry" the 1 and put the 0 in the sixes place in the sum.
\(1+4+0=5\) which is \(5_{6}\) so we put the 5 in the thirty-sixes place in the sum.
\(5+3=8\) which is \(12_{6}\) and it's the last step, so we put the 2 in the two-hundred-sixteens place and the 1 in the one-thousand-two-hundred-ninety-sixes place in the sum.
\[\begin{aligned}
1202_{3}+1022_{3} \\
\\
1202_{3} \\
+1022_{3} \\
\hline
10001_{3}
\end{aligned} \nonumber \]
\(2+2=4\) which is \(11_{3}\) so we "carry" the left 1 and put the right 1 in the ones place.
\(1+0+2=3\) which is \(10_{3}\) so we "carry" the 1 and put the 0 in the threes place.
\(1+2+0=3\) which again is \(10_{3}\) so we again "carry" the 1 and put the 0 in the nines place.
\(1+1+1=3\) which again is \(10_{3}\) and it's the last step, so we put the 0 in the twenty-sevens place and the 1 in the eighty-ones place.
Add \(7452_{9}+3288_{9}\)
- Answer
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\(11751_{9}\)
- Rewrite the problem vertically (line up the place values).
-
Subtract the rightmost digits first (the
ones
place).
-
If you cannot get a positive value, you need to "borrow" from the next column over, exchanging 1 from the b column to get b in the ones column.
- (For example in base 5: take 1 five and exchange it for 5 ones ).
-
If you cannot get a positive value, you need to "borrow" from the next column over, exchanging 1 from the b column to get b in the ones column.
- Repeat step 2 with the next place value higher until you get to the leftmost digit.
\[\begin{aligned}
4310_{7} - 1234_{7} \\
\\
4310_{7} \\
-1234_{7} \\
\hline
3043_{7}
\end{aligned} \nonumber \]
We cannot take 4 from 0 so we take one from the sevens place and exchange it for 7 ones. \(7-4=3\) so we put the 3 in the ones place in the difference.
We cannot take 3 from 0 (because we took 1) so we take one from the forty-nines place and exchange it for 7 sevens . \(7-3=4\) so we put the 4 in the sevens place in the difference.
\(2-2=0\) so we put the 0 in the forty-nines place in the difference.
\(4-1=3\) so we put the 3 in the three-hundred-forty-threes place in the difference.
\[\begin{aligned}
3741_{8}- 1465_{8} \\
\\
3741_{8} \\
-1465_{8} \\
\hline
2254_{8}
\end{aligned} \nonumber \]
We cannot take 5 from 1 so we take one from the eights place and exchange it for 8 ones and add it to the 1 already there. \(9-5=4\) so we put the 3 in the ones place in the difference.
We cannot take 6 from 3 (because we took 1) so we take one from the sixty-fours place and exchange it for 8 eights and add it to the 3 already there. \(11-6=5\) so we put the 5 in the eights place in the difference.
\(6-4=2\) so we put the 2 in the sixty-fours place in the difference.
\(3-1=2\) so we put the 2 in the five-hundred-twelves place in the difference.
- Rewrite the problem vertically.
- Multiply the bottom number's ones digit by the top number's ones digit.
- Represent the product in the base you are working with and "carry" as if you are multiplying in Base 10.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 remembering to add the value of the "carry" until you have multiplies the bottom number's ones digit with every digit of the top number.
- Now repeat steps 2 and 3 with the bottom number's next digit over. You need to place a 0 in the ones digit because the next digit is not a ones digit.
- Repeat until you have use all digits of the bottom number.
\[\begin{aligned}
323_{4} \times 12_{4} \\
\\
323_{4} \\
\times 12_{4} \\
\hline
1312_{4} \\ + 3230_{4} \\ \hline 11202_{4}
\end{aligned} \nonumber \]
To help us through this multiplication, here is a table of all possible products of single-digits in base 4:
\(\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|l|}
\hline \times & 0 & 1 & 2 & 3 \\
\hline 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\
\hline 1 & 0 & 1 & 2 & 3 \\
\hline 2 & 0 & 2 & 10 & 12 \\ \hline 3 & 0 & 3 & 12 & 21 \\
\hline
\end{array}\)
\(2 \times 3 = 6\) which is \(12_{4}\) so we "carry" the 1 and put the 2 in the ones place in the product.
\(2 \times 2 + 1 = 5\) which is \(11_{4}\) so we "carry" the left 1 and put the right 1 in the fours place in the product.
\(2 \times 3 + 1 = 7\) which is \(13_{4}\) so we put the 3 in the sixteens place in the product and the 1 in the sixty-fours place in the product.
Now on the next line we put a 0 in ones place. Then we multiply by the 1 in \(12_{4}\).
\(1 \times 3 = 3\) so we put the 3 in the fours place.
\(1 \times 2 =2\) so we put the 2 in the sixteens place.
\(1 \times 3 = 3\) so we put the 3 in the sixty-fours place.
Now we add to get our final answer.


15.2: Make and Screen a cDNA Library
The first step in making a cDNA library is to isolate cellular mRNA. This mRNA extract should represent all of the transcripts in the cells at the time of isolation, or the cell’s transcriptome . This term is used by analogy to genome. However, a genome is all of the genetic information of an organism. In contrast, a transcriptome (usually eukaryotic) reflects all of the genes expressed in a given cell type at a moment in time. Reversetranscribed cDNAs from an mRNA extract are also referred to as a transcriptome…, and likewise, a cDNA library. A cDNA library is a tube full of bacterial cells that have taken up (i.e., been transformed with) plasmids recombined with cDNAs. cDNA libraries made from mRNAs taken from different cell types or the same cells grown under different conditions are in effect, different transcriptomes. Each reflects mRNAs transcribed in cells at the moment of their extraction. When cells in a cDNA library are spread out on a nutrient agar petri dish, each cell grows into a colony of cells; each cell in the colony is a clone of a starting cell. cDNA libraries can be used isolate and sequence the DNA encoding a polypeptide that you are studying.
Recall that the mature mRNA in eukaryotic cells has been spliced. This means that cDNAs from eukaryotic cells do not include introns. Introns, as well as sequences of enhancers and other regulatory elements in and surrounding a gene must be studied in genomic libraries, to be discussed later. Here we look at how to make a cDNA library.
A. cDNA Construction
mRNA is only a few percent of a eukaryotic cell; most is rRNA. But that small amount of mRNA can be separated from other cellular RNAs by virtue of their 3’ poly(A) tails. Simply pass a total RNA extract over an oligo-d(T) column (illustrated below).
The strings of thymidine (T) can H-bond with the poly(A) tails of mRNAs, tethering them to the column. All RNAs without a 3’ poly(A) tail will flow through the column as waste. A second buffer is passed over the column to destabilize the A-T H-bonds to allow elution of an mRNA fraction. When free’ oligo d(T) is added to the eluted mRNA, it forms H-bonds with the poly(A) tails of the mRNAs, serving as a primer for the synthesis of cDNA copies of the poly(A) mRNAs originally in the cells. Finally, four deoxynucleotide DNA precursors and reverse transcriptase (originally isolated from chicken retrovirus-infected cells) are added to start reverse transcription. The synthesis of a cDNA strand complementary to an mRNA is shown below.
After heating to separate the cDNAs from the mRNAs, the cDNA is replicated to produce double-stranded, or (ds)cDNA, as illustrated below.
Synthesis of the second cDNA strand is also catalyzed by reverse transcriptase! The enzyme recognizes DNA as well as RNA templates, and has the same 5’-to-3’ DNA polymerizing activity as DNA polymerases. After 2nd cDNA strand synthesis, S1 nuclease (a single-stranded endonuclease originally isolated from an East Asian fungus!) is added to open the loop of the (ds) cDNA structure and trim the rest of the single-stranded DNA. What remains is the (ds) cDNA.
B. Cloning cDNAs into Plasmid Vectors
To understand cDNA cloning and other aspects of making recombinant DNA, we need to talk a bit more about the recombinant DNA tool kit. In addition to reverse transcriptase and S1 nuclease, other necessary enzymes in the ‘kit’ include restriction endonucleases ( restriction enzymes ) and DNA ligase . The natural function of restriction enzymes in bacteria is to recognize specific restriction site sequences in phage DNA (most often palindromic DNA sequences), hydrolyze it and thus avoid infection.
Restriction enzymes that make a scissors cut through the two strands of the double helix leaves blunt ends . Restriction enzymes that make a staggered cut on each strand at their restriction site leave behind complementary (‘sticky’) ends (below).
If you mix two of double-stranded DNA fragments with the same sticky ends from different sources (e.g., different species), they will form H-bonds at their complementary ends, making it easy to recombine plasmid DNA with (ds)cDNA, that have the same complementary ‘sticky ends’. Using the language of recombinant DNA technologies, let’s look at how plasmid vectors and cDNAs can be made to recombine.
1. Preparing Recombinant Plasmid Vectors Containing cDNA Inserts
Vectors are carrier DNAs engineered to recombine with foreign DNAs of interest. When a recombinant vector with its foreign DNA insert gets into a host cell, it can replicate many copies of itself, enough in fact for easy isolation and study. cDNAs are typically inserted into plasmid vectors that are usually purchased “off-the-shelf”. They can be cut with a restriction enzyme at a suitable location, leaving those sticky ends. On the other hand, it would not do to digest (ds)cDNA with restriction endonucleases since the goal is not to clone cDNA fragments, but entire cDNA molecules. Therefore, it will be necessary to attach linkers to either end of the (ds)cDNAs. Plasmid DNAs and cDNA-linker constructs can then be digested with the same restriction enzyme to produce compatible ‘sticky ends’. Steps in the preparation of vector and (ds)cDNA for recombination are shown below.
To prepare for recombination, a plasmid vector is digested with a restriction enzyme to open the DNA circle. To have compatible sticky ends , double-stranded cDNAs to be inserted are mixed with linkers and DNA ligase to put a linker DNA at both ends of the (ds) cDNA. DNA ligase is another tool in the recombinant DNA toolkit. Linkers are short, synthetic double-stranded DNA oligomers containing restriction sites recognized and cut by the same restriction enzyme as the plasmid. Once the linkers are attached to the ends of the plasmid DNAs, they are digested with the appropriate restriction enzyme. This leaves both the (ds)cDNAs and the plasmid vectors with complementary sticky ends.
2. Recombining Plasmids and cDNA Inserts and Transforming Host Cells
The next step is to mix the cut plasmids with the digested linker-cDNAs in just the right proportions so that the most of the cDNA (linker) ends will anneal (form Hbonds) with the most of the sticky plasmid ends. Adding DNA ligase to the plasmid/linker-cDNA mixture forms phosphodiester bonds between plasmid and cDNA insert, completing the recombinant circle of DNA, as shown below.
In early cloning experiments, an important consideration was to generate plasmids with only one copy of a given cDNA insert, rather than lots of re-ligated plasmids with no inserts or lots of plasmids with multiple inserts. Using betterengineered vector and linker combinations, this issue became less important.
3. Transforming Host Cells with Recombinant Plasmids
The recombinant DNA molecules are now ready for ‘cloning’. They are added to E. coli (sometimes other host cells) made permeable so that they can be easily transformed . Recall that transformation as defined by Griffith is bacterial uptake of foreign DNA leading to a genetic change. The transforming principle in cloning is the recombinant plasmid! The transformation step is shown below.
The tube full of transformed cells is the cDNA Library.
After all these treatments, not all plasmid molecules in the mix are recombinant; some cells in the mix haven’t even taken up a plasmid. So when the recombinant cells are plated on agar, how do you tell which of the colonies that grow came from cells that took up a recombinant plasmid? Both the host strain of E. coli and plasmid vectors used these days were further engineered to solve this problem. One such plasmid vector carries an antibiotic resistance gene . In this case, ampicillin-sensitive cells would be transformed with recombinant plasmids containing the resistance gene . When these cells are plated on media containing ampicillin (a form of penicillin), they grow, as illustrated below.
Untransformed cells (cells that failed to take up a plasmid) lack the ampicillin resistance gene and thus, do not grow on ampicillin-medium. But, there is still a question. How can you tell whether the cells that grew were transformed by a recombinant plasmid containing a cDNA insert? It is possible that some of the transformants contain only non-recombinant plasmids that still have the ampicillin resistance gene!
To address this question, plasmids were further engineered with a streptomycin resistance gene . But this antibiotic resistance gene was also engineered to contain restriction enzyme sites in the middle of the gene. Thus, inserting a cDNA in this plasmid would disrupt and inactivate the gene. Here is how this second bit of genetic engineering enabled growth only of cells transformed with a recombinant plasmid containing a cDNA insert. We can tell transformants containing recombinant plasmids apart from those containing non-recombinant plasmids by the technique of replica plating shown (illustrated below).
After colonies grow on the ampicillin agar plate, lay a filter over the plate. The filter will pick up a few cells from each colony, in effect becoming a replica (mirror image) of the colonies on the plate. Place the replica filter on a new agar plate containing streptomycin; the new colonies that grow on the filter must be streptomycin-resistant, containing only non-recombinant plasmids. Colonies containing recombinant plasmids, those that did not grow in streptomycin are easily identified on the original ampicillin agar plate. In practice, highly efficient recombination and transformation procedures typically reveal very streptomycinresistant cells (i.e., colonies) after replica plating. In this case, ampicillin-resistant cells constitute a good cDNA library, ready for screening.
4. Identifying Colonies Containing Plasmids with Inserts of Interest
The next step is to screen the colonies from the cDNA library for those containing the specific cDNA that you’re after. This typically begins preparing multiple replica filters like the one above. Remember, these filters are replicas of bacterial cells containing recombinant plasmids that grow on ampicillin but not streptomycin. The number of replica filters that must be screened can be calculated from assumptions and formulas for estimating how many colonies must be screened to represent an entire transcriptome (i.e., the number of different mRNAs in the original cellular mRNA source). Once the requisite number of replica filters are made, they are subjected to in situ lysis to disrupt cell walls and membranes. The result is that the cell contents are released and the DNA is denatured (i.e., becomes single-stranded). The DNA then adheres to the filter in place ( in situ , where the colonies were). The result of in situ lysis is a filter with faint traces of the original colony (below).
Next, a molecular probe is used to identify DNA containing the sequence of interest. The probe is often a synthetic oligonucleotide whose sequence was inferred from known amino acid sequences. These oligonucleotides are made radioactive and placed in a bag with the filter(s). DNA from cells that contained recombinant plasmids with a cDNA of interest will bind the complementary probe. The results of in situ lysis and hybridization of a radioactive probe to a replica filter are shown below.
264 Probing a Replica Plate Filter
The filters are rinsed to remove un-bound radioactive oligomer probe, and then placed on X-ray film. After a period of exposure, the film is developed. Black spots will form on the film from radioactive exposure, creating an autoradiograph of the filter. The black spots in the autoradiograph correspond to colonies on a filter that contain a recombinant plasmid with your target cDNA sequence (below).
Once a positive clone is identified on the film, the corresponding recombinant colony is located on the original plate. This colony is grown up in a liquid culture and the plasmid DNA is isolated. At that point, the cloned plasmid DNA can be sequenced and the amino acid sequence encoded by its cDNA can be inferred from the genetic code dictionary to verify that the cDNA insert in fact encodes the protein of interest. Once verified as the sequence of interest, a cloned plasmid cDNA can be made radioactive or fluorescent, and used to
- probe for the genes from which they originated.
- identify and quantitate the mRNA even locate the transcripts in the cells.
- quantitatively measure amounts of specific mRNAs.
Isolated plasmid cDNAs can even be expressed in suitable cells to make the encoded protein.  Moreover, while the introduction of the polymerase chain reaction ( PCR , see below) has superseded some uses of cDNAs, they still play a role in genome-level and transcriptome-level studies.


13.1: Introduction- Realism
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- Berke, Bleil, & Cofer
- Middle Georgia State University, College of Coastal Georgia, & Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College via University of North Georgia Press
After the Civil War and toward the end of the nineteenth century, America experienced significant change. With the closing of the Western frontier and increasing urbanization and industrialization , and with the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad and the advent of new communication technologies such as the telegraph, America began to emerge as a more unified nation as it moved into the Industrial Age . As immigration from both Europe and Asia peaked during the last half of the nineteenth century, immigrants provided cheap labor to rising urban centers in the Northeast and eventually in the Midwest. There was a subsequent rise in the middle class for the first time in America, as the economic landscape of the country began to change. The country’s social, political, and cultural landscape began to change as well. Women argued for the right to vote, to own property, and to earn their own living, and, as African-Americans began to rise to social and political prominence, they called for social equality and the right to vote as well. Workers in factories and businesses began to lobby for better working conditions, organizing to create unions. Free public schools opened throughout the nation, and, by the turn of the century, the majority of children in the United States attended school. Throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century, activists and reformers worked to battle injustice and social ills. Within this heady mix of political, economic, social, and cultural change, American writers began to look more to contemporary society and social issues for their writing material, rather than to the distant or fictional past.
The first members of the new generation of writers sought to create a new American literature, one that distinctly reflected American life and values and did not mimic British literary customs. At the same time, these writers turned to the past, toward writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and James Fenimore Cooper, and reacted against their predecessors’ allegiance to the Romantic style of writing which favored the ideal over the real representation of life in fiction. William Dean Howells, Mark Twain, and Henry James wrote prolifically about the Realistic method, where writers created characters and plot based on average people experiencing the common concerns of everyday life, and they also produced their own literary masterpieces using this style.
All writers in the Realistic mode shared a commitment to referential narrative. Their readers expected to meet characters that resembled ordinary people, often of the middle class, living in ordinary circumstances, who experienced plausible real life struggles and who often, as in life, were unable to find resolution to their conflicts. Realists developed these characters by using ordinary speech in dialogue, commensurate to the character’s social class. Often in Realistic stories, characterization and plot became intertwined, as the plot was formed from the exploration of a character working through or reacting to a particular issue or struggle. In other words, character often drove the plot of the story. Characters in Realistic fiction were three-dimensional, and their inner lives were often revealed through an objective, omniscient narrator.
Realists set their fiction in places that actually existed, and they were interested in recent or contemporary life, not in history or legend. Setting in Realistic fiction was important but was not limited to a particular place or region. Realists believed in the accuracy of detail, and, for them, accuracy helped build the “truth” conveyed in the work. The implied assumption for these writers is that “reality” is verifiable, is separate from human perception of it, and can be agreed upon collectively. Finally, Realistic writers believed that the function of the author is to show , not simply tell . The story should be allowed to tell itself with a decided lack of authorial intrusion. Realistic writers attempted to avoid sentimentality or any kind of forced or heavy-handed emotional appeal. The three most prominent theorists and practitioners of American Literary Realism are Mark Twain, often called the comic Realist; William Dean Howells, often termed the social Realist; and Henry James, often characterized as the psychological Realist.
Two earlier literary styles contributed to the emergence of Realism: Local Color and Regionalism . These two sub-movements cannot be completely separated from one another or from Realism itself, since all three styles have intersecting points. However, there are distinct features of each style that bear comparison.
2.2.1 Local Color (1865-1885)
After the Civil War, as the country became more unified, regions of the country that were previously “closed” politically or isolated geographically became interesting to the populace at large. Readers craved stories about eccentric, peculiar characters living in isolated locales. Local Color writing therefore involves a detailed setting forth of the characteristics of a particular locality, enabling the reader to “see” the setting. The writer typically is concerned with habits, customs, religious practices, dress, fashion, favorite foods, language, dialect, common expressions, peculiarities, and surrounding flora and fauna of a particular locale. Local Color pieces were sometimes told from the perspective of an outsider (such as travelers or journalists) looking into a particular rural, isolated locale that had been generally closed off from the contemporary world. In some stories, the local inhabitants would examine their own environments, nostalgically trying to preserve in writing the “ways things were” in the “good old days.” The Local Color story often involved a worldly “stranger” coming into a rather closed off locale populated with common folk. From there the story took a variety of turns, but often the stranger, who believed he was superior to the country bumpkins, was fooled or tricked in some way. Nostalgia and sentimentality, and even elements of the Romantic style of the earlier part of the century, may infuse a Local Color story. Often, the story is humorous, with a local trickster figure outwitting the more urbane outsider or interloper. In Local Color stories about the Old South, for example, nostalgia for a bygone era may be prevalent. The “plantation myth” popularized by Thomas Nelson Page, for instance, might offer a highly filtered and altered view of plantation life as idyllic, for both master and slave. Local Color stories about the West, such as Mark Twain’s “The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” might offer raucous stories with stock characters of gamblers or miners who outwit the interloper from the city, who flaunts his intellectual superiority over the locals. An early African-American writer, Charles Chesnutt, used the Local Color style of writing to deconstruct the plantation myth by showing the innate dignity, intelligence, and power of slaves or former slaves who outwit the white racist landowners.
Local Color writing can be seen as a transitional type of writing that took American literature away from the Romantic style and more firmly into the Realistic style. The characters are more realistically drawn, with very human, sometimes ignoble, traits: they swear, speak in regional dialect, swat flies away from their faces, and make mistakes; they are both comic and pitiable. The setting is realistically drawn as well: a real-life location, with accurate depictions of setting, people, and local customs. Local Color writing, however, does not reach the more stylistically and thematically complicated dimensions of Realistic writing. Local Color works tend to be somewhat sentimental stories with happy endings or at least endings where good prevails over evil. Characters are often flat or two-dimensional who are either good or bad. Outlandish and improbable events often happen during the course of the story, and characters sometimes undergo dramatic and unbelievable changes in characterization. Local Color did, however, begin a trend in American literature that allowed for a more authentic American style and storyline about characters who speak like Americans, not the British aristocracy, real-life American places, and more down-to-earth, recognizably human characters.
2.2.2 Regionalism (1875-1895)
Regionalism can be seen as a more sophisticated form of Local Color, with the author using one main character (the protagonist) to offer a specific point of view in the story. Regionalist writers often employ Local Color elements in their fiction. After all, they are concerned with the characteristics of a particular locale or region. However, regionalist writers tell the story empathetically, from the protagonist’s perspective. That is, the Regional writer attempts to render a convincing surface of a particular time and place, but investigates the psychological character traits from a more universal perspective. Characters tend to be more three-dimensional and the plot less formulaic or predictable. Often what prevents Regional writers from squarely falling into the category of “Realist” is their tendency toward nostalgia, sentimentality, authorial intrusion, or a rather contrived or happy ending.
In Sarah Orne Jewett’s “A White Heron,” for example, the story has a number of features of Local Color stories: characters speak in a New England dialect, the landscape is described in detail, the customs and rituals of farming class families are described, and an outsider the young male ornithologist comes to this secluded region with a sense of superiority and is thwarted in his endeavors by young Sylvy who refuses to give up the secret location of the heron. However, the story is told from the perspective of Sylvy, and readers gain insight into her inner conflict as she attempts to make a difficult decision. We gain awareness of Sylvy’s complexity as a character, a young girl who is faced with making an adult decision, a choice that will force her to grow up and face the world from a more mature stance. Jewett does, at times, allow the narrator to intrude in order to encourage readers to feel sympathy for Sylvy. Therefore, the story does not exhibit the narrative objectivity of a Realistic story.
Regionalism has often been used as a term to describe many works by women writers during the late nineteenth century; however, it is a term which, unfortunately, has confined these women writers’ contributions to American literature to a particular style. Sarah Orne Jewett and Mary Wilkins Freeman, for example, certainly wrote about the New England region, but their larger focus was on ordinary women in domestic spaces who seek self-agency in a male-dominated culture. Kate Chopin set most of her works among the Creole and Acadian social classes of the Louisiana Bayou region, yet the larger themes of her works offer examinations of women who long for passionate and personal fulfillment and for the ability to live authentic, self-directed lives. Like the established theorists of Realism Howells, Twain, and James women writers of the time, including Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Ellen Glasgow, who are generally not thought of as Regional writers, produced work which often defied strict labeling and which contributed to the beginning of a feminist tradition in American literature. While literary labels help frame the style and method of stories written in the late nineteenth century, most literary works especially those that have withstood the test of time defy reductionism.


2.1: Why It Matters- Reading Strategies
Why should we analyze academic reading strategies?
Our society takes basic literacy skills for granted. Much of our culture relies on the ability to read (and write) and take part in the communication that reading allows. Imagine for a few moments if your ability or freedom to read were stripped from you. What would you miss out on?
Rhetorical readers understand that authors make choices about content, structure, and style based on the rhetorical context in which they are operating. Furthermore, rhetorical readers recognize their own context for reading, match their reading strategies with the text, and vary their reading process according to their purpose for reading. Since academic reading and writing represent an evolving conversation in which both the author’s and the reader’s rhetorical context come into play, it is important for college students to know how to read rhetorically. Additionally, college reading encompasses a wide variety of texts, offering students opportunities to expand their vocabularies.
Consider what you would like to be able to do that your current reading ability doesn’t allow for right now. In what areas could your reading skills improve? Perhaps you’d like to learn more vocabulary words, better understand scientific articles, or better recognize arguments in what you read. What benefits will stronger reading habits bring you in the next few years?
In this module, you will learn what rhetorical reading is as well as strategies for becoming an active rhetorical reader. You’ll also take a closer look at types of readings you may encounter during your college experience.
The following video demonstrates what life is like when half of adult society is excluded from reading.
You can view the transcript for “For these women, reading is a daring act” here (opens in new window).
The video discussed how these women’s lives changed, or were in the process of changing, because they gained the ability to read. Take a few moments and reflect on what you’re able to do now because you can read. What daily activities of yours rely on this skill?
Contributors and Attributions
- Why It Matters: Reading. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Five (book image). Authored by : Roxanne Milward. Located at : www.flickr.com/photos/66327170@N07/6642737959/. License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
- Reading Introduction. Provided by : University of Mississippi. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Laura Boushnak: For these women, reading is a daring act. Authored by : TED. Located at : https://youtu.be/tJ8sXl_HrjM . License : All Rights Reserved


13.4: Defending Social Movements (in the US)
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13.4.1: Defending against Surveillance and Suppression
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You may hear that there is no such thing as perfect digital security, and we agree. The surveillance capabilities of a well-resourced adversary are nearly limitless, and those that we described in “Digital Threats to Social Movements” barely scratch the surface. However, not all risks are equal, not all surveillance tools are equally likely to be used, and there is a lot that an individual and a group can do to reduce the threats due to surveillance.
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13.4.2: Security Culture
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Social movements aware of the history of informant-driven suppression by State and private adversaries have developed what is termed security culture. This term refers to information-sharing agreements and other group practices intended to minimize the negative impacts of infiltration, surveillance, and other suppressive threats to the group, its work, its membership, and broader social movements; that is, security here means something much broader than digital security.
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13.4.3: Protecting Your Devices
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The amount of data you keep on your phone and laptop is staggering. A lot of this data you will also share with your cloud storage providers, but that is the focus of the chapter “Protecting Your Remote Data.” Here we focus on protecting the data that you keep with you on your laptops and cell phones from a remote or physical attack.
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13.4.4: Protecting Your Communications
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The best way to protect your online communications is through encryption. But not all encryption is equally protective. We will focus on the concepts that distinguish between the degrees of protection.
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13.4.5: Protecting Your Remote Data
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The cloud is ubiquitous. Since the early 2000s, data is increasingly stored not exclusively (or at all) on your own device but on the servers of the companies that manage your device or operating system or whose services you subscribe to. If that data is not encrypted with a key that you control, that data is at risk for compromise.
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13.4.6: Protecting Your Identity
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In this chapter, we will focus on skills for using Tor over VPN, but these lessons apply to using a VPN. One needs to additionally remember, though, that when using a VPN, the VPN provider knows who you are and the metadata of your internet communications (and the content, if it isn’t encrypted). While we will focus on using Tor via the Tor Browser, know that there are other applications that route internet requests through the Tor network.
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7.5: Unique Circumstances
Inferences Based on Circumstantial Evidence
As noted earlier, probable cause and reasonable suspicion must be based on “specific and articulable facts.” However, the courts will also consider an officer’s inferences as to the meaning or significance of the facts so long as the inference appeared to be reasonable. It is especially relevant that the inference was based on the officer’s training and experience. In the words of the Supreme Court, “The evidence must be seen and weighed not in terms of library analysis by scholars, but as understood by those versed in the field of law enforcement.” Or, as the Court explained in United States v. Arvizu :
The process allows officers to draw on their own experience and specialized training to make inferences from and deductions about the cumulative information available to them that might well elude an untrained person.
For example, in People v. Soun, the defendant and three other men killed the owner of a video store in San Jose during a botched robbery. The men were all described as Asian, but witnesses provided conflicting descriptions of the getaway car. Some said it was a two-door Japanese car, but one said it was a Volvo “or that type of car.” Two of the witnesses provided a partial license plate number. One said he thought it began with 1RCS, possibly 1RCS525, or 1RCS583. The other said he thought it was 1RC(?)538.
A San Jose PD officer who was monitoring these developments at the station made two inferences:
(1) the actual license plate probably began with 1RCS, and (2) the last three numbers included a 5 and an 8. So he started running these combinations through DMV until he got a hit on 1RCS558, a 1981 Toyota registered in Oakland. Because the car was last seen heading toward Oakland, officers notified OPD and, the next day, OPD officers stopped the car and eventually arrested the occupants for the murder. This, in turn, resulted in the seizure of the murder weapon. On appeal, one of the occupants, Soun, argued that the weapon should have been suppressed because the detention was based on nothing more than “hunch and supposition.” On the contrary, said the court, what Soun labeled “hunch and supposition” was actually “intelligent and resourceful police work.”
Similarly, in People v. Carrington the California Supreme Court ruled that police in Los Altos reasonably inferred that two commercial burglaries were committed by the same person based on the following: “the two businesses were located in close proximity to each other, both businesses were burglarized on or about the same date, and in both burglaries, blank checks were stolen.”
Hunches and Unsupported Conclusions
It is well known that hunches play an important role in solving crimes. “A hunch,” said the Ninth Circuit, “may provide the basis for solid police work; it may trigger an investigation that uncovers facts that establish reasonable suspicion, probable cause, or even grounds for a conviction.” Still, hunches are absolutely irrelevant in determining the existence of probable cause or reasonable suspicion. In other words, a hunch “is not a substitute for the necessary specific, articulable facts required to justify a Fourth Amendment intrusion.”
The same is true of unsupported conclusions. For example, in ruling that a search warrant affidavit failed to establish probable cause, the court in U.S. v. Underwood noted that much of the affidavit was “made up of conclusory allegations” that were “entirely unsupported by facts.” Two of these allegations were that officers had made “other seizures” and had “intercepted conversations” that tended to prove the defendant was a drug trafficker. “[T]hese vague explanations,” said the court, “add little if any support because they do not include underlying facts.”
Information Known to Other Officers
Information is ordinarily irrelevant unless it had been communicated to the officer who acted on it; i.e., the officer who made the detention, arrest, or search, or the officer who applied for the search or arrest warrant. To put it another way, a search or seizure made without sufficient justification cannot be rehabilitated in court by showing that it would have been justified if the officer had been aware of information possessed by a colleague. As the California Supreme Court explained, “The question of the reasonableness of the officers’ conduct is determined on the basis of the information possessed by the officer at the time a decision to act is made.”
There is, however, an exception to this rule known as the “official channels rule” by which officers may detain, arrest, or sometimes search a suspect based solely on an official request to do so from another officer or agency. Under this rule, officers may also act based on information transmitted via a law enforcement database, such as NCIC and CLETS.
Although the officers who act upon such transmissions are seldom aware of many, if any, of the facts known to the originating officer, this does not matter because, as the U.S. Supreme Court pointed out, “[E]ffective law enforcement cannot be conducted unless police officers can act on directions and information transmitted by one officer to another and that officers, who must often act swiftly, cannot be expected to cross-examine their fellow officers about the foundation for the transmitted information.”
For example, in U.S. v. Lyons state troopers in Michigan stopped and searched the defendant’s car based on a tip from DEA agents that the driver might be transporting drugs. On appeal, Lyons argued that the search was unlawful because the troopers had no information as to why she was suspected of carrying drugs. But the court responded “it is immaterial that the troopers were unaware of all the specific facts that supported the DEA’s reasonable suspicion analysis. The troopers possessed all the information they needed to act—a request by the DEA (subsequently found to be well-supported).”
Note that, although officers “are entitled to presume the accuracy of information furnished to them by other law enforcement personnel,” 61 (Links to an external site.) the officers who disseminated the information may later be required to prove in court that they had received such information and that they reasonably believed it was reliable.
Information Inadmissible in Court
In determining whether probable cause or reasonable suspicion exists, officers may consider both hearsay and privileged communications. For example, although a victim’s identification of the perpetrator might constitute inadmissible hearsay or fall within the marital privilege, officers may rely on it unless they had reason to believe it was false. As the Court of Appeal observed, “The United States Supreme Court has consistently held that hearsay information will support the issuance of a search warrant.... Indeed, the usual search warrant, based on a reliable police informer’s or citizen informant's information, is necessarily founded upon hearsay.” On the other hand, information may not be considered if it was inadmissible because it was obtained in violation of the suspect’s constitutional rights; e.g., an illegal search or seizure.
Mistakes of Fact and Law
If the probable cause was based on information that was subsequently determined to be inaccurate or false, the information may nevertheless be considered if the officers reasonably believed it was true. As the Court of Appeal put it, “If the officer’s belief is reasonable, it matters not that it turns out to be mistaken.” Or, in the words of the Supreme Court, “[W]hat is generally demanded of the many factual determinations that must regularly be made by agents of the government is not that they always be correct, but that they always be reasonable.”
The courts are not, however, so forgiving with mistakes of law.  Consequently, information will not be considered if it resulted from such a mistake, even if the mistake was made in good faith. As the California Supreme Court explained, “Courts on strong policy grounds have generally refused to excuse a police officer’s mistake of law.” Or, as the Ninth Circuit put it, “If an officer simply does not know the law and makes a stop based upon objective facts that cannot constitute a violation, his suspicions cannot be reasonable.”
To learn more about the fourth amendment and the requirement for probable cause, watch this video: the fourth amendment: the requirement for probable cause .
*If you are accessing a print version of this book, type the following short url into your browser to visit this source: bit.ly/3zCQR9e


3.4: Material Channels of Communication
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Interaction of Multiple Communicative Channels
In the discussion above of the three case studies, I have considered these text objects through their roles in ordering a variety of landscapes, while also considering how ancient viewers would have interacted with their material forms. In thinking and writing about these objects I have, at times, had to remind myself that our collective focus is on text (not image) and materiality: image and text intersect and intertwine in profound ways on Maya objects, and it is difficult and problematic to attempt to separate them.
The implications of this are several. These objects have powerful voices because there are multiple interpretive modes through which they can be engaged. Literacy is not a black and white proposition for ancient Maya individuals (Houston and Stuart 1992), and one can imagine different levels or types of understanding that would have guided readings of these text objects at varying depths. I argue that the wide range of possibility in reception of these texts makes them powerful as technological agents, and efficient in accomplishing their orientational work — though, presumably, with differing results depending on the viewer’s knowledge and interpretation.
I also want to point out that in the preceding discussion, I have often referred to the content of the texts, despite our interest in this volume in moving beyond a transparent reading, and engaging with material practices connected to such text. I have attempted to combine an understanding of the material forms of these text objects with commentary on the content; in the subsection that follows, I will look more closely at how the form of each object impacts the way the text is consumed, and thus how the work of the text object is accomplished. Nonetheless, in thinking about juxtapositions of text and materiality, the examinations above have underlined how analysis of contextualized content, in fact, returns us to material practice, in the form of orientations that shape ancient individuals’ sense of self and place — and, by extension, resulting action — within the spheres that they inhabited. As these text objects were encountered and interpreted, they acted to provide direction and instruction to the viewers, through both form and content.
Material Forms of Text Objects
In thinking about Piedras Negras Panel 3, Río Azul Vessel 15, and the Naranjo weaving bones, I acknowledged the different forms of each, and imagined something of how each text object would have been interacted with. What is the impact of the different material forms of these text objects on the work that they accomplish in providing orientation in a number of planes? What is significant about the physical form that they take, and the way that this form is experienced by the viewer?
At Piedras Negras, the ancient viewer would have stood in front of Structure O-13, on the edge of an open, paved plaza, having traveled to this place to see this object, or encountered it by chance while walking through the city. The Río Azul pot was passed from hand to hand, tilted for pouring, set down on the floor, picked up again and filled with fragrant liquid. It was displayed and moved. At Naranjo, the weaving bones were put to use in a loom, and then folded up, perhaps, in a cloth pouch for safekeeping. They were touched and moved, possibly shared with a fellow crafter, and occasionally broken.
As we consider these texts as technology, we must picture how they are put into play and used. By imagining an ancient viewer, we are invited to consider how the text is consumed or internalized. Each of these objects accomplishes their work, and allows for engagement or interaction with itself, through the interface of its material form.
In the case of Panel 3, the form that this text object takes is — clearly — a carved stone wall monument. But, I would argue, thematically this text object operates as a frame . Visually, we perceive a social and architectural space (which the text itself helps to bound). The types of local and distant orientation discussed for this monument — spatial, temporal, political — are conveyed through things understood to be within this frame, or to exist beyond its borders.
Analyzing the form of Vessel 15 from Río Azul reveals that, not at all surprisingly, it is (and acts as) a container . It holds literal and metaphorical substances that may be consumed or replenished within this volumetric space, and which allow for the storage and movement of these substances to other places and for other people. As a container, this vessel is handled and handed on: it moves between social spaces on individual and group scales.
Finally, the weaving bones are implements . They carry out work in direct and indirect ways, and are personal and connective when used for their primary function. As they move in and out of sight, they pass through important substances (textiles), and enter into a recursive process of creating further communicative avenues. Their changing nature is a reminder of the dynamism associated with tools and text objects, as well as their products.
These may seem like less than revolutionary characterizations of these text objects — I am merely placing them into broader descriptive categories. And yet, each of these thematic characterizations says something about how the text and message are transformed by the particular form in, or on, which they are expressed. These descriptors similarly suggest how these texts are interacted with and the modes through which they are interpreted. As we think about these material forms carrying out the orientational work I have described throughout this paper, it becomes clear that the material nature of the text objects themselves provides the avenue through which this expression and maintenance of cultural landscapes is carried out.
Effectiveness Through the Real and the Imaginary
In considering the cultural landscapes that are created and maintained through texts and written technology, I have emphasized that some of these are real and tangible, while others are abstract, distant, or even imaginary to the viewer. Thus, these objects operate on, and locate individuals within, far wider spheres than immediate experience would yield. As we consider the ways that the material forms of these text objects make them particularly effective in their work, we must also notice the effectiveness of these objects in terms of how they combine or juxtapose the real and the imagined.
Throughout, the interest here has been in remaining in touch with the materiality of these objects — these are artifacts, things, that could be (and still can be) touched. In this sense, there is no ‘realness problem’ with these objects. They were physically present in the ancient world, and remain physically available today. And yet, these objects are static and unanimated: a frozen stone scene of a court, a pot, a collection of carved pieces of bone. For them to carry out their work most effectively, they are used, interacted with, made part of social practices. Intriguingly, some of the very same characteristics I have highlighted in terms of the material natures of these objects are ones that in a very different field, that of literary studies, have been argued to provide authors with powerful ways to lift objects from the page and allow the reader to vividly animate textual descriptions (Scarry 1999). According to Scarry, the presence of a frame (beyond which bodies move, enter, and exit), a tilting motion (of a vessel poured and righted again), and the action of repeated appearance and disappearance (of a bone weaving implement) all are key characteristics of the vivacity of image in literary and cognitive contexts (Scarry 1999: 100–157). In our case, these objects are not imagined, and do not need to be lifted from a two-dimensional page. However, it may be that their physical properties render them especially nimble for being put into motion in the mind, or recalled later when not present or not in active use. By the nature of their material forms, and the ways that these forms are used in practice, these text objects hold particular promise for vivacity and duration in the effects of their work.


1.5.7: Chemical Potentials- Solutions- Raoult's Law
A given closed system contains an aqueous solution; the solute is chemical substance \(j\). The system is at equilibrium at temperature \(\mathrm{T}\). The chemical potential of water in the aqueous solution is related to the mole fraction \(\mathrm{x}_{1}\) of water using equation (a) which is based on Raoult’s Law for the solvent.
\[\mu_{1}(\mathrm{aq} ; \mathrm{T} ; \mathrm{p})=\mu_{1}^{0}(\ell ; \mathrm{T})+\mathrm{R} \, \mathrm{T} \, \ln \left(\mathrm{x}_{1} \, \mathrm{f}_{1}\right)+\int_{\mathrm{p}^{0}}^{\mathrm{p}} \mathrm{V}_{1}^{*}(\ell) \, \mathrm{dp} \nonumber \]
\[\text { By definition, at all } \mathrm{T} \text { and } \mathrm{p}, \operatorname{limit}\left(\mathrm{x}_{1} \rightarrow 1\right) \mathrm{f}_{\mathrm{1}}=1 \nonumber \]
If ambient pressure is close to the standard pressure \(\mathrm{p}^{0}\), the chemical potential of solvent water in the aqueous solution is given by equation (c).
\[\mu_{1}(\mathrm{aq} ; \mathrm{T} ; \mathrm{p})=\mu_{1}^{0}(\ell ; \mathrm{T})+\mathrm{R} \, \mathrm{T} \, \ln \left(\mathrm{x}_{1} \, \mathrm{f}_{1}\right) \nonumber \]
For an ideal solution, \(\mathrm{f}_{1} = 1\).
\[\mu_{1}(\mathrm{aq} ; \mathrm{T} ; \mathrm{p} ; \mathrm{id})=\mu_{1}^{0}(\ell ; \mathrm{T})+\mathrm{R} \, \mathrm{T} \, \ln \left(\mathrm{x}_{1}\right) \nonumber \]
But for a solution \(\mathrm{x}_{1} < 1.0\) and so \(\ln \left(x_{1}\right)<0\). In other words, by adding a solute to water (forming an ideal solution) we stabilise the solvent. We define a quantity \(\Delta(\ell \rightarrow a q) \mu_{1}(\mathrm{~T}, \mathrm{p})\) using equation (e) which measures the change in chemical potential of water when one mole of water is transferred from water(\(\ell\)) to an ideal aqueous solution.
\[\Delta(\ell \rightarrow \mathrm{aq}) \mu_{1}(\mathrm{~T}, \mathrm{p})=\mu_{1}(\mathrm{aq})-\mu_{1}^{*}(\ell)=\mathrm{R} \, \mathrm{T} \, \ln \left(\mathrm{x}_{1}\right) \nonumber \]
i.e. \(\Delta(\ell \rightarrow \mathrm{aq}) \mu_{1}(\mathrm{~T}, \mathrm{p} ; \mathrm{id})<0\)
In the case of a real solution, the extent of stabilisation depends on whether \(\mathrm{f}_{1}\) is either larger or smaller than unity. [Note that \(\mathrm{f}_{1}\) cannot be negative]. This line of argument leads to an important theme in the description of the properties of aqueous solutions. We compare the chemical potentials of water in real and in the corresponding ideal solutions. The difference is the excess chemical potential, \(\mu_{1}^{E}(a q ; T ; p)\).
\[\text { By definition, } \quad \mu_{1}^{\mathrm{E}}(\mathrm{aq} ; \mathrm{T} ; \mathrm{p})=\mu_{1}(\mathrm{aq} ; \mathrm{T} ; \mathrm{p})-\mu_{1}(\mathrm{aq} ; \mathrm{T} ; \mathrm{p} ; \mathrm{id}) \nonumber \]
\[\text { Hence } \quad \mu_{1}^{\mathrm{E}}(\mathrm{aq} ; \mathrm{T} ; \mathrm{p})=\mathrm{R} \, \mathrm{T} \, \ln \left(\mathrm{f}_{\mathrm{l}}\right) \nonumber \]
If \(\mathrm{f}_{1} > 1.0\), then \(\mu_{1}^{\mathrm{E}}(\mathrm{aq} ; \mathrm{T} ; \mathrm{p})>0\); if \(\mathrm{f}_{1} < 1.0\), then \(\mu_{1}^{\mathrm{E}}(\mathrm{aq} ; \mathrm{T} ; \mathrm{p})<0\). In the latter case, interactions involving solute and solvent are responsible for the fact that the properties of a given solution are not ideal and the fact that these interactions stabilise the solvent relative to that for an ideal solution.


16.1: Bacterial Infections of the Circulatory and Lymphatic Systems
- Identify and compare bacteria that most commonly cause infections of the circulatory and lymphatic systems
- Compare the major characteristics of specific bacterial diseases affecting the circulatory and lymphatic systems
Bacteria can enter the circulatory and lymphatic systems through acute infections or breaches of the skin barrier or mucosa. Breaches may occur through fairly common occurrences, such as insect bites or small wounds. Even the act of tooth brushing, which can cause small ruptures in the gums, may introduce bacteria into the circulatory system. In most cases, the bacteremia that results from such common exposures is transient and remains below the threshold of detection. In severe cases, bacteremia can lead to septicemia with dangerous complications such as toxemia, sepsis, and septic shock. In these situations, it is often the immune response to the infection that results in the clinical signs and symptoms rather than the microbes themselves.
Epidemic Typhus
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Lyme Disease
Relapsing Fever
Key Concepts and Summary
- Bacterial infections of the circulatory system are almost universally serious. Left untreated, most have high mortality rates.
- Bacterial pathogens usually require a breach in the immune defenses to colonize the circulatory system. Most often, this involves a wound or the bite of an arthropod vector, but it can also occur in hospital settings and result in nosocomial infections.
- Epidemic typhus, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, and relapsing fever are transmitted by arthropod vectors.
- Because their symptoms are so similar to those of other diseases, many bacterial infections of the circulatory system are difficult to diagnose.
- Standard antibiotic therapies are effective for the treatment of most bacterial infections of the circulatory system, unless the bacterium is resistant, in which case synergistic treatment may be required.
- The systemic immune response to a bacteremia, which involves the release of excessive amounts of cytokines, can sometimes be more damaging to the host than the infection itself.


20.2: DSM-V Categories of Personality Disorder
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A Complex Problem
When I first wrote this appendix I approached the complexity of personality disorders by including two sections: the DSM criteria for diagnosing personality disorders and an alternative way of categorizing these disorders proposed by Theodore Millon. With the advent of the DSM-V (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) things have gotten even more complex. The DSM-V continues with the same categories as were used in the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), but then it offers a completely different set of criteria for diagnosing personality disorders. No other DSM edition has done this, suggesting that personality disorders are proving to be the most complex group of psychological disorders.
So, I have now kept the same two first sections, since the official diagnostic criteria are essentially the same (only some changes in the wording of the text) and Theodore Millon's alternative theory is particularly interesting. Then, I briefly describe the new alterntive being offered in the DSM-V (leaving it up to you to explore them in more detail).
DSM-V Categories of Personality Disorder
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5 th Ed. (DSM-V; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) defines personality disorders as “an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment.” The consideration of cultural context is perhaps the most significant change in this definition from the earlier DSM-III. The DSM-V suggests that the personality disorders can be grouped into three clusters, plus a “not otherwise specified” category, for a total of 11 specific diagnoses, the authors caution that the identified clusters have not been consistently validated and that individuals may present combinations of personality disorders from different clusters. Nonetheless, the DSM-V still presents the three clusters of personality disorders (plus the “not otherwise specified” classification). Cluster A, the odd or eccentric types , are paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorders. Cluster B, the dramatic, emotional, or erratic types , are antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic personality disorders. And finally, Cluster C, the anxious or fearful types , are the avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.
The odd or eccentric personality disorders represent several of the typical symptoms of schizophrenia (paranoia, emotional detachment, and social withdrawal), leading some to suggest that they represent mild forms of the most widely recognized form of psychosis. However, distinct differences suggest that these personality disorders are not part of a continuum between normal personality and schizophrenia. For example, in individuals with an odd or eccentric personality disorder who also exhibit psychotic symptoms, the personality disorder can be recognized prior to the onset of psychotic symptoms and persists when the psychotic symptoms are in remission. Also, these disorders are not characterized by a pronounced thought disorder, which appears to be the defining characteristic of schizophrenia.
The dramatic, emotional, or erratic personality disorders include the most well-known, due in no small part to their dramatization in movies and television. Most serial killers suffer from antisocial personality disorder (they are often referred to as psychopaths), as do many people in prison. People with antisocial personality disorder demonstrate a complete lack of regard for the rights of others, and will routinely violate those rights. The other personality disorders in this cluster involve various forms of unstable interpersonal relationships, excessive emotions, and a distorted self-image. Interestingly, this cluster appears to involve a significant gender factor, in that antisocial personality disorder is diagnosed more frequently in men, whereas the borderline and histrionic personality disorders are diagnosed more frequently in women.
Probably the least recognized group of personality disorders, among students and the general public are the anxious or fearful personality disorders. The first two, avoidant personality disorder and dependent personality disorder, both involve pervasive patterns of anxiety relating to interpersonal relationships. Finally, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder involves a pervasive preoccupation with neatness, perfectionism, and interpersonal control.
Although the DSM-IV-TR made a point of adding cultural context to the definition of personality disorders, it wasn't until the publication of the DSM-V that much was said in the manual about culture. Not only is there limited research regarding the influence of culture on personality disorders, there is likewise only limited research on cultural influences on normal personality. The notable exception to this may be the well-known research on fundamental differences between individualistic vs. collectivist cultures, which are generally associated with Western vs. Eastern approaches to life. There are also fundamental religious associations that match these basic distinctions, since Western cultures are typically associated with the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), whereas Eastern cultures are typically associated with Yoga, Buddhism, Taoism, etc.
Discussion Question: What sort of impression do you have of people with personality disorders (it’s OK to consider things you have seen on television and in movies)? Is this what you think of when you typically think of mental illness or psychological disorders?


5.3: Revolutionizing Learning in Developing Countries
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Further studies are painting a picture of today’s youth becoming increasingly comfortable and accepting of their new digital lifestyles, powered by always-on technology such as mobile phones, enriched by portable entertainment devices such as iPods, digital cameras, Sony PSPs, and Nintendo’s Gameboy. Friendships are made, maintained, and lost online, often in virtual worlds and on social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo. Much of what we are seeing today—generally out of the classroom but increasingly in it—is technology-driven, but this technology is not universally accessible to all.
In contrast, the living and learning environments in developing countries can often be quite different. Where mobile technology may prove a complementary extension to teaching methods in the West, for example, improving or enriching the learning experience, in many developing countries it offers the hope of revolutionising learning altogether, even taking it into areas previously starved of reliable or regular education services. This is particularly true in rural areas, which may be characterised by a lack of fixed telephone lines, poor roads and unreliable electricity, poor postal services, few if any personal computers, few teachers, and most likely no Internet access.
What many of these communities will have, however, is mobile network coverage and, if not their own phones, at least access to one. Learning by distance is nothing new in many developing countries, and the mobile phone has the potential to unlock it yet further, expanding its reach and delivering richer, more appropriate, more engaging and interactive content.
But despite the promise, problems remain. Imagine two mobile phone users. One lives in the land of plenty, and owns an iPhone. He or she can access the Internet via free wireless connections dotted around the city, download and play games, keep in contact with friends and family via instant messenger (IM), watch streaming video and live TV, and use as much data, SMS or voice, as they like with a cheap all-inclusive price plan. The other lives in the land of less. He or she uses a shared phone, lives in an area not covered by a data network of any kind, has a sporadic signal, a phone incapable of playing games or video, and has to think twice before sending an SMS or making a voice call because of constant concerns over airtime credit, not to mention worries over how the phone will be recharged if the main electricity doesn’t come back for days.
“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself”. – Chinese proverb


5.16: Situation Analysis
- Describe how a situation analysis illuminates the opportunities and threats in a business environment
Situational analysis helps decision-makers in the firm understand what to do and when to do it. At its most basic level, it’s a consideration of the context, organizational capabilities, customer needs, and competition. These factors describe the business environment, how our own abilities can deliver value relative to consumer needs and the likely actions/reactions of our competitive set.
Specifically, context refers to the over-arching business environment, as influenced and affected by macro-level trends like technology, government regulation, social movements and economic forces. For example, you’ve read that consumers are using convenient digital interfaces and low-cost fulfillment to order product on-line and in-app for at-home delivery. This change in consumer behavior has an effect upon the retail grocery industry as well. Thus, forward-looking retail strategy should include a consideration of technology and consumer trends are shaping the shopping experience from search through fulfillment to service.
Government regulation and social movements may also converge to create powerful forces that shape the business environment. Consider, for example, that social activism around environmentalism and sustainability has led to laws prohibiting the use of plastic bags at check-out in California. Or, how concerns about high-calorie drinks have led to restrictions in some places, either by law or by activism. At the University of California San Francisco, for example, retailers on-campus have been required to remove sugar-sweetened beverages, replacing them with zero-calorie beverages and non-sweetened drinks with nutritional value. This initiative started at UCSF’s medical center on its Mission Bay campus site, but had support to roll out across all campuses. These are clear examples of how government regulation and social movements can have significant impact upon the competitive environment. Thus, effective situational analysis should identify and quantify, if possible, these threats.
Organizational capabilities considers the relative strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This should be a practical and pragmatic assessment of what the firm does and does not do well. It should reflect how it makes investments and allocates resources, mindful of its priorities and stakeholders. Dollar General, for example, wouldn’t describe capabilities for attracting consumers interested in a high-touch shopping experience—that’s not what they do well. By the same token, Whole Foods wouldn’t claim capabilities around low-cost retailing.
Customer analysis includes consideration of the needs of current and future consumer, as well as their characteristics. But, because robust strategic planning includes a step dedicated to customer analysis, the assessment of the customer within the situational analysis does not require the same rigor. Instead, it is reasonable to describe which consumer segments are the best fit for the firm’s products/services, using broad segmentation criteria. However, during the customer analysis, it’s important to consider which specific targets will be targeted and how the firm will position themselves for them.
For examples, within the situational awareness, a retailer like Kroger might describes its core customer as a weekly grocery shopper with a product mix of fresh and packaged products and an average bill of $xx.xx per week. However, in the customer analysis, Kroger might refine this further to describe specifically consumer needs around convenience or value or wellness, described by the segments’ specific behavior.
And, competition includes assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the competitive set. But, just as the assessment of organizational capabilities requires practical and pragmatic assessment of what the firm does and does not do well, that same objectivity needs to be applied to the competitive assessment. Because we’ve acknowledged that we cannot be all things to all shoppers, it is natural and appropriate that competitors will have strengths in some areas where we do not. That’s okay because the flip-side is also true—we’ll have strengths where the competition does not.
By thinking in this multi-dimensional way, decision-makers can assess the factors that have direct influence on their strategic opportunities and threats. Thus, they’ll be better equipped to identify where to make investments to capitalize on opportunities.
Contributors and Attributions
- Situation Analysis. Authored by : Patrick Williams. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution