5.3: Narrowing a Topic
Process of Narrowing a Topic
Why Narrow a Topic?
Once you have a need for research—say, an assignment—you may need to prowl around a bit online to explore the topic and figure out what you actually want to find out and write about. For instance, maybe your assignment is to develop a poster about “spring” for an introductory horticulture course. The instructor expects you to narrow that topic to something you are interested in and that is related to your class.
Jada Narrows Her Topic and Works on a Research Question
The Situation: Jada, an undergraduate, has been assigned a research paper on Antarctica. Her professor expects students to narrow the topic to something more specific about Antarctica because they won’t have time to cover that whole topic. Then they are to come up with a research question that their paper will answer.
The professor explained that the research question should be something they are interested in answering and that it must be more complicated than what they could answer with a quick Google search. She also said that research questions often start with either the word “how” or “why.”
Try it out:
- Read what Jada is thinking below as she tries to do the assignment.
- After the reading, answer the questions based on your own approach to research.
- Check your answers with ours.
- Keep this passage in mind the next time you start a research topic and mimic the process that Jada uses.
Jada’s Thoughts
Okay, I have to write—a research paper—about Antarctica. I don’t know anything about that place—and I can’t think of a single thing I’d like to know about Antarctica. Calls for Wikipedia, I guess.
Guess I’ll go here https://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica . Just skimming. Pretty boring stuff. Oh, look– Antarctica’s a desert! I guess “desert” doesn’t have to do with heat. That’s interesting. Why is it considered a desert, there’s lots of snow and ice there. Have to think about that—what makes a desert a desert.
It says one to five thousand people live there in research stations. Year-round. And there is no evidence that it was seen by humans until the 19th century. I never thought about whether anybody lived in Antarctica first, before explorers and scientists.
Lots of names—explorers, others. It says Amundsen reached the South pole first. Who’s Amundsen? But wait. It says, “One month later, the doomed Scott Expedition reached the pole.” Doomed? Doomed is always interesting. Where is there more information about the Scott Expedition? There is only one sentence. Why would they have just that one sentence? I’ll have to click on the Scott Expedition link.
Terra Nova…
But it gives me a page called Terra Nova Expedition. What does that have to do with Scott? Who was he and why was his expedition doomed? There he is in a photo before going to Antarctica. Guess he was English. Other photos show him and his team in the snow. Oh, the expedition was named Terra Nova after the ship they sailed this time—in 1911. Scott was also there earlier on another ship.
Lots of info about preparing for the trip. Then stuff about expedition journeys once they were in Antarctica. Not very exciting—nothing about being doomed.
Wait. The last paragraph of the first section says “For many years after his death, Scott’s status as a tragic hero was unchallenged,” but then it says that in the 20th-century people looked closer at the expedition’s management and at whether Scott and some of his team could be personally blamed for the catastrophe. That “remains controversial,” it says. Catastrophe? Personally, blamed? Hmm.
Back to skimming. It all seems horrible to me. They actually planned to kill their ponies for meat. Everything was extremely difficult. And then when they arrived at the South Pole, they found that the explorer Amundsen had beaten them. Must have been a big disappointment.
The homeward march was even worse. The weather was bad. The dog sleds that were supposed to meet them periodically with supplies didn’t show up. Or maybe the Scott group was lost and didn’t go to the right meeting places. Maybe that’s what that earlier statement meant about whether the decisions that were made were good ones. Scott’s diary said the crystallized snow made it seem like they were pushing and pulling the sleds through dry sand .
Rocks?!
It says that before things turned really bad, Scott allowed his men to put 30 pounds of rocks with fossils on the sleds they were pushing and dragging. Now was that sensible? But here it says that those rocks are the proof of continental drift. So how did they know those rocks were so important? Was that knowledge worth their lives? Could they have known?
Scott’s diary is quoted about their troubles on the expedition—the relentless cold, frostbite, and the deaths of their dogs. One entry tells of a guy on Scott’s team “now with hands as well as feet pretty well useless” voluntarily leaving the tent and walking to his death. The diary says that the team member’s last words were ”I am just going outside and may be some time.”
They all seem lost and desperate but still have those sleds. Why would you keep pulling and pushing those sleds containing an extra 30 pounds of rock when you are so desperate and every step is life or death?
A diary…
Then there’s Scott’s last diary entry, on March 29, 1912. “… It seems a pity but I do not think I can write more.”. The diary apparently gave lots of locations of where he thought they were but maybe they were lost. It says they ended up only 11 miles from one of their supply stations.
I’d love to see that diary. Wouldn’t that be cool? Online? I’ll Google it. Yes! it’s at the British Museum. Look at that! I can see Scott’s last entry IN HIS OWN HANDWRITING! And there’s a digital copy too.
I wonder if I should narrow my topic to just the controversy over whether the expedition was doomed because of the bad decisions made by Scott and his crew? Maybe it’s too big a topic if I consider the decisions of all team members. Maybe I should just consider Scott’s decisions. They should be noted in the diary.
So what research question could come from that? Maybe: how did Scott’s decisions contribute to his team’s deaths in Antarctica? Need to be more focused: How did Scott’s decisions after reaching the South Pole help or hurt the chances of his team getting back safely? There are several of his decisions discussed on the Wikipedia page, and I know there are sources at the bottom of that page.
Really, a desert?
Let me think—what else did I see that was interesting or puzzling about all this? I remember being surprised that Antarctica is a desert. So maybe I could make the desert of Antarctica my topic. My research question could be something like: Why is Antarctica considered a desert? But there has to be a definition of deserts somewhere online, so that doesn’t sound complicated enough. Maybe those rocks with the fossils in them. It’s just so hard to imagine desperate explorers continuing to push those sleds with an extra 30 pounds of rocks on them. Did they somehow know how important they would be? Why didn’t they ditch them? Or maybe they just didn’t realize how close to death they were. Maybe I could narrow my Antarctica topic to those rocks.
Maybe my topic could be something like The rocks that Scott and his crew found in Antarctica that prove continental drift. Maybe my research question could be: How did Scott’s explorers choose the rocks they kept? Or maybe I should stick with why Scott and his crew made bad decisions.
I should ask.
I think my professor is the only one who can tell me whether my question about the rocks has enough to do with Antarctica. Since she’s the one who will be grading my paper. But a librarian can help me figure out the other things. So Dr. Sanders and a librarian are next.
Questions
- Was Jada’s choice to start with Wikipedia a good choice? Why or why not?
- Have you ever skimmed resources first and then read more deeply later?
- At what points does Jada think about where to look for information?
- At the end of this session, Jada hasn’t yet settled on a research question. So what did she accomplish? What good was all this searching and thinking?
Our Answers
- Was Jada’s choice to start with Wikipedia a good choice? Although not usually cited in research papers, Wikipedia is a good place to learn more about all kinds of topics. Information is usually general in nature and you can check out the references at the bottom of the page. Use those links to find additional resources. This may lead you to library based sources like subject dictionaries, encyclopedias, or guides.
- Have you ever skimmed resources first and then read more deeply later? When first exploring your topic you may choose to skim resources. That is a very brief read looking for interesting and useful information. Later when you select a topic and look for resources that provide deeper, more focused information.
- At what points does Jada think about where to look for information? After receiving the core part of the topic (Antarctica), she begins looking for general information and becomes curious about the Scott expedition. As she learns more she thinks about where she can look for additional information, such as the diary mentioned in Wikipedia..
- At the end of this session, Jada hasn’t yet settled on a research question. So what did she accomplish? What good was all this searching and thinking? The background information that Jada looked at helped her to focus on the problems with the Scott Expedition. She slowly narrows down some of the issues and centers on the weight of the rocks. She considers two different questions (one more narrow than the other) and intends to seek input from the professor and librarian. Taking the time to explore her topic has given her ideas useful for a solid research question.
Exercise: Determine the Topic Order
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://minnstate.pressbooks.pub/ctar/?p=59#h5p-7


24.3: The Edo Period
Rinpa School Painting in the Edo Period
In the early years of the Edo period, some of Japan’s finest expressions in painting were produced by the Rinpa School.
Identify key attributes of Rinpa painting during the Edo period
Key Points
- In the early years of the Edo period, the full impact of Tokugawa policies had not yet been felt, and some of Japan’s finest expressions in architecture and painting were produced by the Rinpa School.
- Rinpa artists worked in various formats, notably screens, fans, hanging scrolls, woodblock printed books, lacquerware, ceramics, and kimono textiles. Many Rinpa paintings were used on the sliding doors and walls (fusuma) of noble homes.
- In 1615, Hon’ami Kōetsu founded the Rinpa School of painting by establishing an artistic community of craftsmen supported by wealthy merchant patrons in northeastern Kyoto.
- Kōetsu’s collaborator, Tawaraya Sōtatsu, maintained an atelier in Kyoto and produced commercial paintings such as decorative fans and folding screens; Sōtatsu specialized in decorated paper, to which Kōetsu added calligraphy.
- Like Kōetsu, Sōtatsu pursued the classical Yamato-e genre, but he also pioneered a new technique with bold outlines and striking color schemes.
- The Rinpa School was revived in the Genroku era (1688–1704) by Ogata Kōrin and Ogata Kenzan; Kōrin’s innovation was to depict nature as an abstract using numerous color and hue gradations and mixing colors on the surface to achieve eccentric effects.
Key Terms
- lacquerware : A decorative object coated with lacquer.
- swordsmith : A maker of swords.
Background: The Edo Period
In the Edo (江) or Tokugawa (徳) period between 1603 to 1868, Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, a form of military rule headed by the shogun. The period was characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, increased environmental protection, and popular enjoyment of the arts. It was officially established in Edo on March 24, 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616). The period came to an end with the Meiji Restoration on May 3, 1868, after the fall of Edo to forces loyal to the Emperor.
One of the dominant themes in the Edo period was the repressive policies of the shogunate and the attempts of artists to escape these strictures. The foremost of these strictures was the closing of the country to foreigners and the imposition of strict codes of behavior affecting many aspects of life, including the clothes one wore, the person one married, and the activities one could or should not pursue. In the early years of the Edo period, however, the full impact of Tokugawa policies had not yet been felt, and some of Japan’s finest expressions in architecture and painting were produced by the Rinpa School.
The Rinpa School
Style and Technique
Rinpa artists worked in various formats, notably screens, fans, hanging scrolls, woodblock printed books, lacquerware, ceramics, and kimono textiles. Many Rinpa paintings were used on the sliding doors and walls (fusuma) of noble homes. Subject matter and style were often borrowed from Heian period traditions of Yamato-e, with elements from Muromachi ink paintings, Chinese Ming Dynasty flower-and-bird paintings, and Momoyama period Kanō School developments. The stereotypical standard painting in the Rinpa style involves simple natural subjects such as birds, plants, and flowers with the background filled in with gold leaf. Emphasis on refined design and technique became more pronounced as the Rinpa style developed.
Development of the School
Rinpa is one of the major historical schools of Japanese painting. In 1615, Hon’ami Kōetsu founded an artistic community of craftsmen, supported by wealthy merchant patrons of the Nichiren Buddhist sect at Takagamine in northeastern Kyoto. Merchants, who were the lowest of the four social classes and often considered unproductive members of society, were increasingly relied on by the samurai for the production of consumer goods and artistic works. Both the affluent merchant town elite and the old Kyoto aristocratic families favored arts that followed classical traditions, and Kōetsu obliged by producing numerous works of ceramics, calligraphy, and lacquerware. Kōetsu’s collaborator, Tawaraya Sōtatsu, maintained an atelier in Kyoto and produced commercial paintings such as decorative fans and folding screens. Sōtatsu specialized in making decorated paper with gold or silver backgrounds, which Kōetsu assisted by adding calligraphy.
The Founders: Hon’ami Kōetsu and Tawaraya Sōtatsu
Both artists came from families of cultural significance. Kōetsu came from a family of swordsmiths who had served the imperial court and great warlords and shoguns. Kōetsu’s father evaluated swords for the Maeda clan, as did Kōetsu himself. However, Kōetsu was less concerned with swords and more interested in painting, calligraphy, lacquerwork, and the Japanese tea ceremony (he later created several Raku ware tea bowls). His own painting style was flamboyant, recalling the aristocratic style of the Heian period.
Sōtatsu also pursued the same classical Yamato-e genre as Kōetsu, but he pioneered a new technique with bold outlines and striking color schemes. Two of his most famous works include the folding screens Wind and Thunder Gods (風 Fūjin Raijin-zu), located in Kennin-ji temple in Kyoto, and Matsushima (松) at the Freer Gallery in Washington, DC.
Ogata Kōrin and Ogata Kenzan
The Rinpa school was revived in the Genroku era (元 1688–1704) by Ogata Kōrin and his younger brother Ogata Kenzan, sons of a prosperous Kyoto textile merchant. Kōrin’s innovation was to depict nature as an abstract, using numerous color and hue gradations, mixing colors on the surface to achieve eccentric effects, and liberally using precious substances like gold and pearl.
Kōrin’s masterpiece Red and White Plum Trees (紅 Kōhakubai-zu, c. 1714–15) is now at the MOA Museum of Art in Atami, Shizuoka. As a dramatic composition, it established the direction of Rinpa for the remainder of its history. Kōrin collaborated with Kenzan in painting designs and calligraphy on his brother’s pottery. Kenzan remained a potter in Kyoto until after Kōrin’s death in 1716, when he began to paint professionally. Other Rinpa artists active in this period were Tatebayashi Kagei, Tawaraya Sōri, Watanabe Shikō, Fukae Roshū, and Nakamura Hōchū.
Sakai Hōitsu
Rinpa was revived again in 19th century Edo by Sakai Hōitsu (1761–1828), a Kanō School artist whose family had been one of Ogata Kōrin’s sponsors. Sakai published a series of 100 woodcut prints based on paintings by Kōrin, and his painting Summer and Autumn Grasses (夏 Natsu akikusa-zu) is painted on the back of Kōrin’s Wind and Thunder Gods screen and is now at the Tokyo National Museum.
Kanō School Painting in the Edo Period
The Kanō School, which had a naturalistic style, was the dominant style of the Edo period (1603 – 1868).
Describe the defining characteristics of the Kano School during the Edo Period, and distinguish it from literati painting
Key Points
- The Kanō School began by reflecting a renewed influence from Chinese painting, and it continued to produce monochrome brush paintings in the Chinese style over the years.
- However, the school simultaneously developed a brightly colored and firmly outlined style for large panels, which reflected distinctively Japanese traditions.
- The school was supported by the shogunate, effectively representing an official style of art; under the Edo period in which art and culture were strictly regulated, this essentially monopolized the field of painting.
- Kanō School artists worked mainly for the nobility, shoguns, and emperors, covering a wide range of styles, subjects, and formats.
- While initially innovative, from the 17th century onward, the artists of the school became increasingly conservative and academic in their approach.
Key Terms
- Kanō school : One of the most famous schools of Japanese painting, and the dominant style of painting from the late 15th century until 1868, when the Meiji period began.
- literati : Well-educated, literary people; intellectuals who are interested in literature.
Overview: The Kanō School
The Kanō School (狩) was the dominant style of painting during the Edo period. The Kanō family itself produced a series of major artists over several generations, and a large number of unrelated artists trained in workshops of the school. Some artists married into the family and changed their names, while others were adopted, creating a family known for its artistic innovations.
The Style of the School
The school began by reflecting a renewed influence from Chinese painting, and it continued to produce monochrome brush paintings in the Chinese style over the years. However, it simultaneously developed a brightly colored and firmly outlined style for large panels, which reflected distinctively Japanese traditions. Kanō Motonobu, a Japanese painter and member of the Kano School, is particularly known for expanding the school’s repertoire through his bold artistic techniques and patronage. Many of the works during this period combined the forceful quality of work from the earlier Momoyama period with the tranquil depiction of nature and more refined use of color typical of the current Edo period.
The school was supported by the shogunate, effectively representing an official style of art; under the Edo period in which art and culture were strictly regulated, this essentially monopolized the field of painting. The Kanō School drew on the Chinese tradition of literati painting by scholar-bureaucrats, but the Kanō painters were firmly professional artists: they were very generously paid if successful and received formal workshop training in the family workshop (similar to European painters of the Renaissance or Baroque period). Kanō painters worked primarily for the nobility, shoguns, and emperors, covering a wide range of styles, subjects, and formats. While initially innovative, from the 17th century onward, the artists of the school became increasingly conservative and academic in their approach.
The range of forms, styles, and subjects that were established in the early 17th century continued to be developed and refined without major innovation for the next two centuries. Although the Kanō School was the most successful in Japan, the distinctions between its work and the work of other schools tended to diminish over time, as all schools worked in a range of styles and formats, making the attribution of unsigned works often unclear. By the end of the Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji period (1868), the Kanō School had divided into many different branches.
Japanese Literati Painting in the Edo Period
An important art trend during the Edo period was the bunjinga or Nanga School, a kind of literati painting highly influenced by China literati.
Discuss literati painting in Edo Japan and its debt to China
Key Points
- Japanese bunjinga paintings—usually in monochrome black ink, sometimes with light color, and nearly always depicting Chinese landscapes or similar subjects—were patterned after Chinese literati painting.
- Due to the Edo period policy of sakoku, Japanese literati artists were left with an incomplete view of Chinese literati ideas, and the bunjinga style emerged from a fusion of Chinese and Japanese ideals.
- Japanese literati were not members of an academic, intellectual bureaucracy like their Chinese counterparts; while the Chinese literati were academics aspiring to be painters, the Japanese literati were professionally trained painters aspiring to be academics and intellectuals.
- Bunjinga paintings almost always depicted traditional Chinese subjects, and artists focused almost exclusively on landscapes, birds, and flowers.
- As Japan became exposed to Western culture at the end of the Edo period, many bunjinga artists began to incorporate stylistic elements of Western art into their own.
Key Terms
- sakoku : The foreign relations policy of Japan in which strict regulations were applied to commerce and foreign relations by the shogunate; the policy stated that, with the exception of certain circumstances, no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese citizen leave the country on penalty of death; the policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate from 1633–39 and remained in effect until 1853, with the arrival of the Black Ships of Commodore Matthew Perry and the forcible opening of Japan to Western trade.
- Bunjinga : A school of Japanese painting that flourished in the late Edo period among artists who considered themselves literati, or intellectuals; also known as Nanga.
Rise of Bunjinga
An important trend in the Edo period was the rise of the bunjinga genre, a kind of literati painting, also known as the Nanga School or Southern Painting school. This genre started as an imitation of Chinese scholar-amateur painters of the Yuan Dynasty, whose works and techniques came to Japan in the mid-18th century. Later bunjinga artists considerably modified both the techniques and the subject matter of this genre to create a blending of Japanese and Chinese styles. Exemplars of this style include Ike no Taiga, Uragami Gyokudo, Yosa Buson, Tanomura Chikuden, Tani Buncho, and Yamamoto Baiitsu.
As part of the Nanga School, the bunjinga style of Japanese painting flourished in the late Edo period among artists who considered themselves literati, or intellectuals. While each of these artists was unique and independent, they all shared an admiration for traditional Chinese culture. Their paintings—usually in monochrome black ink, sometimes with light color, and nearly always depicting Chinese landscapes or similar subjects—were patterned after Chinese literati paintings, called wenrenhua. Poetry or other inscriptions were also an important element of these paintings and were often added by friends of the artist, rather than the artist themselves.
China’s Influence
Chinese literati painting focused on expressing the rhythm of nature rather than the realistic depiction of it. However, the artist was encouraged to display a cold lack of affection for the painting, as if he, as an intellectual, was above caring deeply about his work. Ultimately, this style of painting was an outgrowth of the idea of the intellectual, or literati, as a master of all the core traditional arts—painting, calligraphy, and poetry.
Under the Edo period policy of sakoku, Japan was cut off from the outside world almost completely. Its contact with China persisted, although this was greatly limited. What little did make its way into Japan was either imported through Nagasaki or produced by the Chinese people living there. As a result, the bunjinga artists who aspired to the ideals and lifestyles of the Chinese literati were left with a rather incomplete view of Chinese literati ideas and art. Bunjinga grew, therefore, out of what did come to Japan from China, including Chinese woodblock-printed painting manuals and an assortment of paintings widely ranging in quality.
Bunjinga was also shaped by the great differences in culture and environment of the Japanese literati as compared to their Chinese counterparts. The form was, to a great extent, defined by its rejection of other major schools of art like the Kano and Tosa Schools. In addition, the literati themselves were not members of an academic, intellectual bureaucracy, as their Chinese counterparts were. While the Chinese literati were academics aspiring to be painters, the Japanese literati were professionally trained painters aspiring to be academics and intellectuals.
Unlike other schools of art that pass on their specific style to their students, every bunjinga artist displayed unique elements in their creations, and many diverged greatly from the stylistic elements employed by their forebears. As Japan became exposed to Western culture at the end of the Edo period, some bunjinga artists began to incorporate stylistic elements of Western art into their own.
Ukiyo-e Woodblock Prints in the Edo Period
With the rise of popular culture in the Edo period, a style of woodblock prints called ukiyo-e became a major art form.
Describe the ukiyo-e woodblock prints of Edo Japan, and the social milieu they most famously depicted
Key Points
- With the rise of popular culture in the Edo period, a style of woodblock prints called ukiyo-e became a major art form.
- Its techniques were fine tuned to produce colorful prints of everything from daily news to schoolbooks. Subject matter ranged from Kabuki actors and the demimonde to courtesans and famous landscapes.
- Ukiyo-e prints began to be produced in the late 17th century, with Harunobu producing the first polychrome print in 1764.
- The dominant artistic figure of the 19th century was Hokusai’s contemporary, Hiroshige, a creator of romantic and somewhat sentimental landscape prints.
Key Terms
- Hiroshige : (1797–1858) A Japanese ukiyo-e artist and one of the last great artists in that tradition.
- ukiyo-e : A Japanese woodblock print or painting depicting everyday life.
- Katsushika Hokusai : (1760–1849) A Japanese artist famous for his woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, which includes perhaps the most famous Japanese woodblock print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
Overview
With the rise of popular culture in the Edo period, a style of woodblock prints called ukiyo-e became a major art form. Its techniques were fine tuned to produce colorful prints of everything from daily news to schoolbooks. Subject matter ranged from Kabuki actors and courtesans to famous landscapes. By 1800, ukiyo-e flourished alongside Rinpa and literati painting.
The school of art best known in the West is that of the ukiyo-e paintings and woodblock prints of the demimonde—the world of the Kabuki theater and the brothel district. Ukiyo-e prints began to be produced in the late 17th century, and required a highly involved process that included a designer, engraver, printer, and publisher. Suzuki Harunobu produced the first polychrome (multicolor) print in 1764, and print designers of the next generation, including Torii Kiyonaga and Utamaro, created elegant and sometimes insightful depictions of courtesans.
Notable Artists
The best known work of ukiyo-e from the Edo period is the woodblock print series. Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (富 Fugaku Sanjūroku-kei, c. 1831), which includes the internationally recognized print The Great Wave off Kanagawa, was created during the 1820s by Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849). Hokusai was influenced by such painters as Sesshu and other styles of Chinese painting. While Hokusai’s work prior to this series is certainly important, it was not until this series that he gained broad recognition. It was also The Great Wave print that initially received, and continues to receive, acclaim and popularity in the Western world.
The dominant artistic figure of the 19th century was Hokusai’s contemporary, Hiroshige, a creator of romantic and somewhat sentimental landscape prints. The odd angles and shapes through which Hiroshige often viewed landscapes, with his emphasis on flat planes and strong linear outlines, had a profound impact on such Western artists as Edgar Degas and Vincent van Gogh. Through artworks held in Western museums, these same printmakers would later exert a powerful influence on the imagery and aesthetic approaches used by early Modernist poets like Ezra Pound and Richard Aldington.
Ukiyo-e was closely linked to the bunjinga, or literati, style of painting that emerged during the same period. Just as ukiyo-e artists chose to depict figures from life outside of the strictures of the Tokugawa shogunate, bunjinga artists turned to Chinese culture and based their paintings on those of Chinese scholar-painters. The exemplars of this style include Ike no Taiga, Yosa Buson, Tanomura Chikuden, and Yamamoto Baiitsu.
Zenga Painting in the Edo Period
Zenga is the Japanese term for the practice and art of Zen Buddhist painting and calligraphy, which developed during the Edo period.
Describe Zenga and its relation to Zen Buddhism
Key Points
- Zenga is a style of Japanese ink-based calligraphy and painting.
- In many instances of Zenga, calligraphy and images are combined in the same piece; the calligraphy denotes a poem, or saying, that teaches some element of the path of Zen.
- The brush painting in Zenga is characteristically simple, bold, and abstract.
- In keeping with individual paths to enlightenment, nearly any subject matter can lend itself to Zenga; however the enso, sticks, and Mt. Fuji are the most common elements.
Key Terms
- Ensō : A Japanese word meaning “circle” and a concept strongly associated with Zen.
- Zenga : The Japanese term for the practice and art of Zen Buddhist painting and calligraphy.
Overview: Zenga Painting
Zenga is the Japanese term for the practice and art of Zen Buddhist painting and calligraphy; it is associated with the Japanese tea ceremony and also various martial arts. As a noun, Zenga is a style of Japanese calligraphy and painting done in ink. In many instances, both calligraphy and image will be merged within the same piece. The calligraphy denotes a poem or saying that teaches some element of the path of Zen; the brush painting is characteristically simple, bold, and abstract.
Development of Zenga
Though Zen Buddhism had arrived in Japan at the end of the 12thcentury, Zenga art didn’t come into its own until the beginning of the Edo period in 1600. In keeping with individual paths to enlightenment, nearly any subject matter can and has lent itself to Zenga; however, the most common elements depicted were the ensō, sticks, and Mt. Fuji. In Zen Buddhism, an ensō is a circle that is hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create. The ensō symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and mu (the void), and it is characterized by a minimalism born of Japanese aesthetics.
Japanese aesthetics used in Zenga paintings were shaped by a set of ancient ideals that include wabi (transient and stark beauty), sabi (the beauty of natural patina and aging), and yūgen (profound grace and subtlety). These ideals, along with others, underpin much of Japanese cultural and aesthetic norms on what is considered tasteful or beautiful. Japanese aesthetics now encompass a variety of ideals; some of these are traditional, while others are modern and sometimes influenced by other cultures.
Crafts in the Edo Period
Traditional Japanese handicrafts associated with the Edo period include temari (a toy handball for children), doll-making, lacquerware, and weaving.
Name the traditional Japanese handicrafts developed during the Edo period
Key Points
- The craft of making temari or handballs evolved into an art in the early Edo period. These balls were made from strips of old kimono silk and exquisitely embroidered with complex decorative stitching.
- Another craft that developed during the Edo period, when Japan was closed to most international trade, was elaborate doll-making; a market of wealthy individuals would pay for the most beautiful doll sets for their homes or as gifts.
- Japanese lacquerwork reached its peak in the 17th century, when lacquer was used to decorate a range of everyday items; the famous lacquerer Ogata Korin introduced a greater use of pewter and mother of pearl in lacquerware.
- Other important crafts during the Edo period include nishijin weaving, yuzen dying, and the production of wadokei or Japanese clocks.
Key Terms
- Hinamatsuri : A traditional Japanese doll festival held every year on March 3rd.
- Edo : Former name of Tokyo.
- temari : A folk craft born in ancient Japan from the desire to amuse and entertain children with a toy handball.
- gofun : A smooth, porcelain-like substance made from ground oyster shell.
- lacquer : A glossy, resinous material used as a surface coating.
Temari
Of the many and varied traditional handicrafts of Japan, the one closely associated with the Edo period (1600–1868) is the ancient craft of temari. Temari means “handball” in Japanese, and it is a folk craft born in ancient Japan from the desire to amuse and entertain children with a toy handball. Temari is said to have its origins from Kemari (football), brought to Japan from China about 1400 years ago. These balls were constructed from the remnants of old kimonos; pieces of silk fabric were wadded up to form a rough ball, and this preliminary ball was then further wrapped in additional strips of fabric. Temari-making gradually became an art, and the initially purely functional stitching assumed a decorative and detailed quality over the years, displaying intricate embroidery.
Temari-making grew as a pastime for noble women in the early part of the Edo period, with women of the aristocracy and upper class competing in creating increasingly more intricate and beautiful balls. Over the years and region by region, the women of Japan explored the craft and improved it. Noisemakers were added to the inside of the balls, Japanese designs mimicked the colors of nature, and the brilliant colors of kimono silk were used to stitch eye-catching patterns.
Doll-Making
Another craft that developed during the Edo period, while Japan was closed to most international trade, was doll-making. During this time, there was a market of wealthy individuals who would pay for the most beautiful doll sets for display in their homes or as valuable gifts. Sets of dolls came to include larger and more elaborate figures. The competitive trade was eventually regulated by the government, meaning that doll-makers could be arrested or banished for breaking laws restricting materials and heights.
Hina dolls are the dolls for Hinamatsuri, the doll festival held annually on March 3rd. They can be made of many materials, but the classic hina doll has a pyramidal body of elaborate, many-layered textiles stuffed with straw and/or wood blocks; carved wood hands (and in some cases feet) covered with gofun; a head of carved wood or molded wood compo covered with gofun, with set-in glass eyes (though before about 1850, the eyes were carved into the gofun and painted); and human or silk hair. A full set comprises at least 15 dolls representing specific characters, with many accessories (dogu); however, a basic set consists of a male-female pair, often referred to as the Emperor and Empress.
Lacquerwork
Japanese lacquerwork reached its peak in the 17th century during the Edo period. Lacquer was used both for solely decorative objects as well as everyday items, such as combs, tables, bottles, headrests, small boxes, and writing cases. The most famous lacquerer-painter of the time was Ogata Korin, who was the first artist to use mother of pearl and pewter in larger quantities in lacquerware.
Other Crafts
Several techniques of Japanese weaving and dying also thrived during the Edo period. Nishijin weaving involved weaving many different types of colored yarn together to form decorative designs. In yuzen, or the paste-resist method of dying, designs were applied to textiles using stencils and rice paste, resulting in the imitation of aristocratic brocades, which were forbidden to commoners by laws of the Edo period.
Another Edo period craft that reflected contemporary Japan’s interest in electrical phenomena and mechanical sciences was the development of wadokei, or Japanese clockwatches. These were typically made of brass or iron in the lantern clock design and driven by weights.
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3.7.5: Tuskegee Syphilis Study
Although many actions of U.S. government health agencies have attempted to improve health, some have in fact caused harm - particularly to vulnerable populations. In 1932, the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) began a 40-year study with the Tuskegee Institute - the first university for Black Americans which had been founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881. The original title of the study was “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male” (renamed to: “USPHS Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee”) and the purpose of the study was to investigate the progression of syphilis. Hundreds of African American men were recruited from rural Alabama for the study - nearly 400 with syphilis and a little more than half without - and were provided medical exams, food, and burial insurance. Eleven years later, penicillin became widely available and was quite an effective treatment for syphilis, yet it was not provided to the men in the study. Not only were the researchers not honest with the subjects on the purpose or details of the project when it began, they also withheld proven medicine when it became available, and allowed an infectious disease to spread to the subjects’ families.
It was not until journalist Jean Heller of the Associated Press broke the story in 1972 that a national outcry prompted a federal review of the study. An independent panel appointed by the Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs concluded that the project had been unethical by not ensuring that the participants had given informed consent. (Informed consent refers to the full knowledge of the patient of the potential risks and benefits of a treatment, and their agreement to participate in that treatment with the understanding of these risks and benefits). Subjects of the Tuskegee study had agreed to the treatments at the beginning of the research, but were not made aware of risks of the treatments, the risks of transmitting syphilis to their families, nor were they given the choice to exit the study once penicillin became available. At a time when scientific racism was abundant, researchers took advantage of the poverty and lack of education in their study participants. The study was immediately halted (albeit 4 decades since it began) and a lawsuit awarded over $9 million to the victims and their families. Yet it wasn’t until 1996 that an official apology was made by President Clinton at the behest of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study Legacy Committee ( About the USPHS Syphilis Study , n.d.), ( Tuskegee Study - Timeline - CDC , 2023).


3.2.1: Estimating Areas
Lesson
Let's estimate the areas of weird shapes.
Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\): Mental Calculations
Find a strategy to make each calculatoin mentally:
\(599+87\)
\(254-88\)
\(99\cdot 75\)
Exercise \(\PageIndex{2}\): House Floorplan
Here is a floor plan of a house. Approximate lengths of the walls are given. What is the approximate area of the home, including the balcony? Explain or show your reasoning.
Exercise \(\PageIndex{3}\): Area of Nevada
Estimate the area of Nevada in square miles. Explain or show your reasoning.
Are you ready for more?
The two triangles are equilateral, and the three pink regions are identical. The blue equilateral triangle has the same area as the three pink regions taken together. What is the ratio of the sides of the two equilateral triangles?
Summary
We can find the area of some complex polygons by surrounding them with a simple polygon like a rectangle. For example, this octagon is contained in a rectangle.
The rectangle is 20 units long and 16 units wide, so its area is 320 square units. To get the area of the octagon, we need to subtract the areas of the four right triangles in the corners. These triangles are each 8 units long and 5 units wide, so they each have an area of 20 square units. The area of the octagon is \(320-(4\cdot 20)\) or 240 square units.
We can estimate the area of irregular shapes by approximating them with a polygon and finding the area of the polygon. For example, here is a satellite picture of Lake Tahoe with some one-dimensional measurements around the lake.
The area of the rectangle is 160 square miles, and the area of the triangle is 17.5 square miles for a total of 177.5 square miles. We recognize that this is an approximation, and not likely the exact area of the lake.
Practice
Exercise \(\PageIndex{4}\)
Find the area of the polygon.
Exercise \(\PageIndex{5}\)
1. Draw polygons on the map that could be used to approximate the area of Virginia.
2. Which measurements would you need to know in order to calculate an approximation of the area of Virginia? Label the sides of the polygons whose measurements you would need. (Note: You aren’t being asked to calculate anything.)
Exercise \(\PageIndex{6}\)
Jada’s bike wheels have a diameter of 20 inches. How far does she travel if the wheels rotate 37 times?
(From Unit 3.1.5)
Exercise \(\PageIndex{7}\)
The radius of Earth is approximately 6,400 km. The equator is the circle around Earth dividing it into the northern and southern hemispheres. (The center of the earth is also the center of the equator.) What is the length of the equator?
(From Unit 3.1.4)
Exercise \(\PageIndex{8}\)
Here are several recipes for sparkling lemonade. For each recipe, describe how many tablespoons of lemonade mix it takes per cup of sparkling water.
- 4 tablespoons of lemonade mix and 12 cups of sparkling water
- 4 tablespoons of lemonade mix and 6 cups of sparkling water
- 3 tablespoons of lemonade mix and 5 cups of sparkling water
- \(\frac{1}{2}\) tablespoon of lemonade mix and \(\frac{3}{4}\) cups of sparkling water
(From Unit 2.1.1)


4.08: References
Allarie v. Victoria (City), (1995) 1 W.W.R. 655 at 661 (B.C.S.C.)
Berntt v. Vancouver (City), (1997) 4 W.W.R. 505, 28 B.C.L.R. (3d)203, 33 C.C.L.T. (2d) 1 (S.C.)
Box, S. (2008). Crime, power and ideological mystification. In E. McLaughlin, J. Muncie and G. Hughes (eds) Criminological perspectives: Essential readings , (pp. 271 – 284). Sage Publishing.
Ceyssens, P., (1999), Legal aspects of policing , (pp. 3-39 – 3-40.). Earlscourt Legal Press, Inc.
Coleman, S. (2004). When police should say no to gratuities . Criminal Justice Ethics, 23 (1), 33-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/0731129X.2004.9992159
Force Science Institute, (2009) Should officers see video of their encounters? Force Science states its case , Force Science Institute. Retrieved from https://www.forcescience.org/2009/01...ir-encounters/
Foster v. Pawsey (1980), 28 N.B.R. (2d) 334 at 63 A.P.R. 334 at 345 (Q.B.)
Hache’ v. Tourville, (1994) 145 N.B.R. (2d) 95, 372 A.P.R. 95
Hicks, W. L. (2004). Constraints in the police use of force: Implications so the just war tradition . American Journal of Criminal Justice, 28 (2). 255-270. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02885875
Hobbes, T. (1950). Leviathan . E. P. Dutton.
Hoffman, R., Lawrence, C., & Brown, G. (2004) Canada’s national use-of-force framework for police officers . Police Chief Magazine . https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/...-use-of-force/
Kania, R. (1998). Should we tell the police to say “yes” to gratuities? Criminal Justice Ethics 7(2), 37-48. https://doi.org/10.1080/0731129X.1988.9991839
Justice Institute of British Columbia, (n. d.) Police academy, red book: Use of force training.
Manning, P. (2010). The police: mandate, strategies and appearances. In T. Newburn (Ed.), T. Newburn, Policing: Key readings . Willan Publishing.
Nozick, R. (1974). Anarchy, state, and utopia . Prentice Hall.
Pedersen v. Hansen, (1963) 2 C.C.C. 348
Pollock, J. (2007). Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Rawls, J. (1999). A theory of justice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Reiner, R. (2010). The politics of the police. Oxford University Press.
Robinow v. Vancouver (City), (2003) B.C.J. No. 989 at para. 71 (QL) (S.C)
R. v. Bottrell (1981), 60 C.C.C. (2d) 211, 22 C.R. (3d) 371 (B.C.C.A.)
R. v. Bottrell (1981), 60 C.C.C. (2d) 211 at 218, 22 C.R. (3d) 371 at 380 (B.C.C.A.)
R. v. Cline (1991), 2 W.A.C. 4, 117 A.R. 4 (C.A.)
R. v. Cunningham and Ritchie (1979), 49 C.C.C. (2d) 390 (Man. Co. Ct.)
R. v. Devereaux (1996), 112 C.C.C. (3d) 243, 147 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 108 (Nfld C.A.)
R. v. Moffitt, (1984) N.W.T.R. 313 (S.C.)
R. v. Nasogaluak, (2010) 1 S.C.R. 206, 251 C.C.C. (3d) 293
Smith, R. (2009). Police, the public, ‘less lethal force’ and suspects: Deconstructing the human rights arguments. The Police Journal, 82 (3), 194–211. https://doi.org/10.1350/pojo.2<IP_ADDRESS>5
Trepasso v. Police Complaints Commissioner, Ont. Div. Ct., 14 March 1995
Weber, M. (2015). Politics as a vocation. In T. Waters & D. Waters (Eds. & Trans.), Weber’s Rationalism and Modern Society. Palgrave MacMillan
Weber, M. (1919). Politics as a Vocation.


5.8: Types of Research Studies - Experimental Studies
Experimental research includes interventions and randomized controlled trials or clinical trials. When researchers are testing whether or not a particular health program works, or a particular drug is effective, they use these types of experimental studies. The hallmark of an experimental study is that the researchers are testing a certain metric before and after the intervention to determine whether or not their experimental protocol or drug caused a specific outcome. Studies like these often have three steps: a pre- test, the experimental protocol, and then a post- test.
Interventions are often done to test a drug, medical technique, or health program and see if it can lead to a positive health outcome. Let’s take a common public health behavioral intervention like exercise, with a goal of improving a health outcome like reducing blood pressure. In this example perhaps we wanted to find out if offering a free exercise program in a particular community would decrease blood pressure readings in participants. We would test the participants blood pressure before offering the exercise program, offer the exercise program for a number of weeks, and then test blood pressure again at the end of the program. Some of these types of intervention studies are done simply to see if that program is feasible for the community. If it’s the very first time an intervention is implemented in a specific community, they might start with a smaller group to test for feasibility. This is called a pilot study. Some interventions and pilot studies have control groups as well. For our example, including a control group might require testing blood pressure in subjects in another neighborhood that did not have the exercise intervention. Control groups are a hallmark of well-conducted interventions, because they compare the experiment to a similar situation without the experiment. How do researchers know that the outcome wouldn’t have happened anyway without their experimental intervention? The control group provides that comparison.
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are a type of experimental study/intervention which is considered the highest level of research in determining cause and effect. This is for several reasons. First, by randomizing the selection of subjects, this removes selection bias and assumes that the subject pool (experimental group and control group) will be as similar to each other and the general population as possible. Second, RCTS have a control group, or perhaps a placebo group. Third, a controlled trial attempts to “control” the study for as many potentially confounding variables as possible. To some extent, this can be done after the fact via statistical calculations, but this can also sometimes be done in the study design. Let’s say for example we were measuring weight loss with our exercise intervention. What else could cause weight loss in either our experimental or control subjects? If several of them went on a diet, or started taking weight-loss medications, or did extra exercise outside of the program, these factors could “confound” our results - i.e. their weight changes would be a result of these other things, not the exercise program itself. As the researchers, we would therefore have to take steps in designing the study in order to reduce these confounding factors (such as asking participants not to change their diet or requiring that subjects are not on weight-loss medication in order to be a part of the study). Additionally, many RCTs are blinded or double-blinded, where the participants and/or the researchers are unaware of which participants are in the experimental and control groups. This helps to eliminate researcher bias (as the researchers might unknowingly treat the experimental participants differently), and it also helps to account for the placebo effect. The placebo effect is a real - not imagined - phenomenon of thinking one is taking some sort of treatment for a disease, and actually experiencing a positive outcome (Harvard Health Publishing, 2021). Using a placebo for the control group allows for the possibility of positive psychological effects from receiving treatment to be experienced by both groups. Thus, any additional improvement experienced by the experimental group could be attributed to the treatment itself, not a placebo effect. See Fig. \(\PageIndex{1}\) for a diagram of randomized controlled trials.


10.4: Catalase Test Procedure
Catalase Test Procedure
Name: _____________________________________________________
Course Section: ______________________________________________
The following activity will teach students how to perform a catalase test and detect the presence of the catalase enzyme.
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1. Get into groups of 2. 2. Obtain a glass slide and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. 3. Using a sterilized inoculating loop, smear a sample of bacteria onto the slide. 4. Using a transfer pipet, place a drop of hydrogen peroxide on top of the bacteria. 5. Look for bubbles immediately:
6. Dispose of the slide in the biohazardous sharps container. |
Results
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Bubbling (+/-) |
Catalase (+/-) |
Interpretation |
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Streptococcus bovis |
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Staphylococcus epidermidis |
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General Questions
1. What is catalase?
2. Why is catalase production an advantage for bacteria to survive?
3. What types of bacteria typically produce catalase?
4. What types of bacteria typically do not produce catalase?
5. Give the chemical reaction catalyzed by the catalase enzyme.
6. What role does the catalase test play in differentiating Staphylococcus and Streptococcus species in clinical diagnostics?
7. What are the potential consequences of failing to correctly identify a Streptococcus infection?


6.3.3: Cell-Mediated Immunity
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Learning Objectives
- Summarize the cell-mediated immune response
T cells
Just as the humoral immune response has B cells which mediate its response, the cellular immune response has T cells, which recognize infected cells and destroy them before the pathogen inside can replicate and spread to infect other cells. Unlike B cells, T lymphocytes (T cells) are unable to recognize pathogens without assistance. First, an antigen-presenting cell (APC, such as a dendritic cell or a macrophage ) detects, engulfs (via phagocytosis in the case of macrophages or by entry of the pathogen of its own accord in the case of dendritic cells), and digests pathogens into hundreds or thousands of antigen fragments. These fragments are then transported to the surface of the APC, where they are presented on proteins known as Major Histocompatibility Complexes class II (MHC II, see ). T cells become activated towards a certain antigen once they encounter it displayed on an MHC II. After a virus or bacteria enters a cell, it can no longer be detected by the humoral immune response. Instead, the cellular immune response must take over. To do so, a T cell will become activated by interacting with an antigen of the infecting cell or virus presented on the MHC II of an APC.
Cytotoxic T cells mediate one arm of the cellular immune response
There are two main types of T cells: helper T lymphocytes (T H ) and the cytotoxic T lymphocytes (T C ). The T H lymphocytes function indirectly to tell other immune cells about potential pathogens, while cytotoxic T cells (T C ) are the key component of the cell-mediated part of the adaptive immune system which attacks and destroys infected cells. T C cells are particularly important in protecting against viral infections because viruses replicate within cells where they are shielded from extracellular contact with circulating antibodies. Once activated, the T C creates a large clone of cells with one specific set of cell-surface receptors, similar to the proliferation of activated B cells. As with B cells, the clone includes active T C cells and inactive memory T C cells. The resulting active T C cells then identify infected host cells.
T C cells attempt to identify and destroy infected cells by triggering apoptosis (programmed cell death) before the pathogen can replicate and escape, thereby halting the progression of intracellular infections. To recognize which cells to pursue, T C recognize antigens presented on MHC I complexes, which are present on all nucleated cells. MHC I complexes display a current readout of intracellular proteins inside a cell and will present pathogen antigens if the pathogen is present in the cell. T C cells also support NK lymphocytes to destroy early cancers.
Cytokines released by T H cells recruit NK cells and phagocytes
Cytokines are signaling molecules secreted by a T H cell in response to a pathogen-infected cell; they stimulate natural killer cells and phagocytes such as macrophages. Phagocytes will then engulf infected cells and destroy them. Cytokines are also involved in stimulating T C cells, enhancing their ability to identify and destroy infected cells and tumors. A summary of how the humoral and cell-mediated immune responses are activated appears in. B plasma cells and T C cells are collectively called effector cells because they are involved in “effecting” (bringing about) the immune response of killing pathogens and infected host cells.
Key Points
- Once a pathogen enters a cell, it can no longer be detected by the humoral immune response; instead, the cell-mediated immune response must take over to kill the infected cell before it can allow the virus or bacteria to replicate and spread.
- T cells recognize infected cells by interacting with antigen present on their MHC II molecules; before a T cell can do so, it must be activated via interaction with an antigen presenting cell, or APC.
- Once a cytotoxic T cell (T C ) is activated, it will clone itself, producing many T C cells with the correct receptors; some portion of the cells are active and will help destroy infected cells, while others are inactive memory cells that will create more active T C cells if the infection returns.
- Helper T cells (T H cells) also aid in cell-mediated immunity by releasing signaling molecules known as cytokines which can recruit natural killer cells and phagocytes to destroy infected cells and further activate T C cells; they do not directly destroy pathogens.
Key Terms
- cytotoxic T cell : a subgroup of lymphocytes (white blood cells) that are capable of inducing death to infected somatic or tumor cells; part of cell-mediated immunity
- cytokine : any of various small regulatory proteins that regulate the cells of the immune system; they are released upon binding of PRRs to PAMPS


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1.5: Chapter Review - Key Terms
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Key Terms
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Android operating system
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Google software operating system used to run non-iPhone mobile phones such as Samsung’s Galaxy
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artificial intelligence (AI)
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use of computers, robots, and machines to behave “intelligently,” engaging in autonomous decision making and behaviors
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augmented reality (AR)
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use of digital objects or elements in a real-life picture or scene
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automation
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use of computers or machines to do tasks that could be completed by a person
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binary digits
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sequences of the numbers 0 and 1 used in computer programming
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biometrics
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authentication that uses a person’s physical characteristics as a form of digital security
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cache
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type of storage in a computer that operates in the background, holding data that can be quickly retrieved
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central processing unit (CPU)
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unit that contains the microprocessor, or “brains” of a computer system
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client
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device that requests and uses resources from other devices on the network
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cloud
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servers housed in data centers to facilitate remote storage and computer operations
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cloud computing
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delivering computer resources such as programs and data storage through the internet rather than storing resources directly on a computer
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computer
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programmable machine that can execute predetermined lists of instructions and respond to new instructions
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computer security
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protection of computer systems and information that prevents unauthorized use
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cookies
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small data files that are deposited on user hard disks and internet sites visited
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cybercrime
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criminal offense that involves a computer and a network
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data erasure
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process by which information is not only deleted but overwritten as well
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data masking
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process by which personally identifiable information is removed from data, allowing a company to make decisions without violating customer privacy
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data resiliency
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ability to recover quickly from a data breach
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domain name system (DNS)
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phone book for the internet, enabling a user to send a message using their name, the symbol @, and the location of the computer as identified by its domain name
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e-commerce
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conducting business transactions online
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encryption
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process of taking information transmitted through the internet and converting it into an unrecognizable code to prevent unauthorized access
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ethernet
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protocols used to connect computers in a local area network or LAN
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external disk drive
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hard disk for information storage such as USBs, CDs, DVDs, and flash memory cards
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firewall
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barrier between a network that is secured and one that is not secured
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hackers
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individuals who gain unauthorized access to a computer system to steal someone’s information
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hard disk
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secondary storage areas where users can save files and retrieve data and programs
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hardware
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computer accessories such as keyboard, mouse, printer, and computer monitor
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HTTPS
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communication protocol that is more secure than HTTP
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hub
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device that sends and receives messages to and from all network connections
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hyperlink
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link on a page or document that, when clicked, navigates the user to that location; a connection between two web pages or documents
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hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)
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rules that allow users to access information on the internet and protect confidential data such as credit card numbers
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information processing cycle
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sequence of events involved in processing information
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internal disk drive
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storage space within the computer that updates and produces copies of files
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Internet of Things (IoT)
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extension of internet connectivity beyond computers, enabling the transfer of information between machines and other objects, people, and animals by connecting them to the internet in some way
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internet protocol address (IP address)
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unique combination of characters used to identify the location of a host computer
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internet service provider (ISP)
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company that provides individuals or organizations with access to the internet
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intranet
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private network for internal company use; can be combined with cloud technology
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iPhone operating system (iOS)
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Apple’s software operating system, used to run iPhones, iPads, and other mobile devices
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machine learning
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use of software applications to make computations and decisions that can inform predictions without human intervention
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mainframe
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computer that is capable of great processing speed and data storage for large organizations
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malware
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software designed to damage the victim’s computer system once it gains access to it
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microchip
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small microprocessor unit used for programming and computer memory storage
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microcomputer
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personal computer that was much smaller than earlier computers and operated with microprocessors
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microprocessor
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consists of a control and an arithmetic-logic unit, which performs math and logical operations within a computer system
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minicomputer
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computer that is similar in power to a mainframe computer, but much smaller in size; used in mid-size organizations
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motherboard
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controls communications for an entire computer system
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nanotechnology
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technology that focuses on changing individual molecules to produce different properties or attributes
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network
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connection of two or more computer systems or devices, either by a cable or through a wireless connection
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operating system
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connection between a device’s hardware and its software
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packet switching
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technology that enabled the development of the internet; computer files are broken up into segments, which are transmitted over the network and reordered into a single file at their destination
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password management
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set of principles and best practices for storing and managing passwords to prevent unauthorized access to the computer
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personal computer (PC)
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microcomputer suitable for individual use
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phishing
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attempts to get users to interact with an email or website that appears to be legitimate but is fake
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random access memory (RAM)
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computer’s primary, short-term memory
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ransomware
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malicious software that encrypts computer data, rendering it useless and inaccessible, forcing the owner to exchange something of value to regain access
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read-only memory (ROM)
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memory not meant for storage but to process information as the computer is being used
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robotics
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use of robotic machines to perform tasks that no human could perform
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router
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device that directs data traffic and allows for multiple devices to run on a network
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secure sockets layer (SSL)
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security protocol that uses encryption to help ensure privacy of information and communications across the internet
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server
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connects devices and allows for resource sharing across networks
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short message service (SMS)
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technology for sending text messages through mobile phones
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smart space
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physical space that incorporates technologies that can be controlled through the internet
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social media
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digital technology that allows users (individuals and organizations) to share information about themselves such as posts, photos, and videos
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software
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computer program or set of programs with the end goal of converting data into processes or actions
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spoofing
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correspondence such as email that appears legitimate but instead is used to obtain your personal information
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supercomputer
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extremely powerful computer that has the fastest processors available
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transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP)
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communication standard that allows data to be sent and received over a network, most notably the internet
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triangulation
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research technique whereby information is verified and validated through multiple sources
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virtual reality (VR)
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simulated environment in which users can interact as if they were physically present
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wearable
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device that uses computing technology to collect and receive data via the internet
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web browser
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a program used to find content stored on the WWW
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workstation
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powerful single-user computer, similar to a personal computer but with more powerful microprocessors


15.1: Introduction
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Learning Outcomes
After reading this chapter, you should be able to answer these questions:
- What is money, what are its characteristics and functions, and what are the three parts of the U.S. money supply?
- How does the Federal Reserve manage the money supply?
- What are the key financial institutions, and what role do they play in the process of financial intermediation?
- How does the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) protect depositors’ funds?
- What roles do U.S. banks play in the international marketplace?
- What trends are reshaping financial institutions?
EXPLORING BUSINESS CAREERS
Michelle Moore
Bank of America Technology continues to change every facet of daily life, including how consumers interact with banks and other financial institutions. Whether large or small, banks have to stay one step ahead of the competition when it comes to providing top-notch service to their customers, including digital and mobile channels. Michelle Moore, head of digital banking at Bank of America, has worked in various parts of the company for more than 14 years. Regardless of her role within the organization, Moore has consistently demonstrated her obsession with exceptional service and how best to make sure the bank is providing customers with products and features that will make their lives easier, keep them loyal to the organization, and ultimately increase sales.
While overseeing the bank’s call center operations, Moore was asked to take on the bank’s mobile initiatives, a request that befuddled her. Moore is the first to tell you she is no techy—she admits she kept her beloved flip phone too long before opting for a smartphone. Yet, her people skills and her drive to provide the best customer service made her the perfect person to take on the bank’s digital and mobile efforts.
Like other major financial institutions, Bank of America did not have a stellar reputation when it came to digital or mobile banking. Although customers used the bank’s digital offerings, the services were basic, even as the smartphone revolution changed many of life’s daily activities. Once Moore and her digital team got the bank’s mobile app up to speed, they began to figure out how to make it better. The team started to add features to the app, making sure that nearly everything customers can do at a bank branch they can do on the new and improved app. In addition, Moore and her group created a digital assistant feature that uses artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to provide customers with the same level of advice and expertise that previously would have been reserved for customers with high-end wealth-management accounts.
A play on the word “America,” the app called Erica recently debuted to the public, and customer reaction has been positive. But Moore is never satisfied with the status quo. She encourages her team to constantly ask how customers will use the app and what will it take to make and keep them happy with the digital assistant’s features. For example, after Moore read an article on the success of Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa, she wondered, “Why can’t our banking app talk to clients?” She pushed her team to add a voice feature to Erica, which gives the digital assistant a competitive edge over other banking mobile apps for now.
Moore knows that customer sentiment is critical to the bank’s success, especially in mobile banking. She continues to be obsessed by customer reviews and how the bank can increase customer satisfaction quickly and efficiently, and she knows that agility is critical in an ever-changing bank environment. Her efforts are paying off. Several years ago, Bank of America had 6 million mobile banking users; today, that number has jumped to more than 22 million. In a recent three-month period, mobile banking customers logged in to their accounts more than 967 million times—more than double the number of desktop logins. And when customers need to visit a local bank branch, more and more of them are booking appointments via the mobile app each week. Although she knows there is more work to do, Moore’s common-sense approach to listening to customers while leveraging technology will help Bank of America increase sales and stay ahead of the competition.
Sources: Robert Barba, “Digital Banker of the Year: B of A’s Michelle Moore,” American Banker, https://www.americanbanker.com , May 31, 2017; Robert Barba, “Mom, Marathoner, App Maker: B of A’s Michelle Moore,” American Banker, https://www.americanbanker.com , May 31, 2017; Ayoub Aouad and Jaime Toplin, “Bank of America Boosts Digital Banking Segment,” Business Insider, http://www.businessinsider.com , April 19, 2017; Michelle Moore, “Leading the Way in Digital Banking,” The Financial Brand, the financial brand.com, February 20, 2017; Hilary Burns, “Michelle Moore on the Latest for BofA’s Digital Operations,” Charlotte Business Journal, https://www.bizjournals.com , December 21, 2016.
Advanced technology, globalization of markets, and the relaxation of regulatory restrictions continue to accelerate the pace of change in the financial services industry. These changes are giving businesses and consumers new options for conducting their financial transactions. The competitive landscape for financial institutions is also changing, creating new ways for these firms to increase their market share and boost profits.
This chapter focuses on the role of financial institutions in U.S. and international economies. It discusses different types of financial institutions, how they are set up and how they function internally, and government oversight of their operations. Because financial institutions connect people with money, this chapter begins with a discussion of money, its characteristics and functions, and the components of the U.S. money supply. Next, it explains the role of the Federal Reserve System in managing the money supply. Then it describes different types of financial institutions and their services and the organizations that insure customer deposits. The chapter ends with a discussion of international banking and trends in financial institutions.