21.3: Bile Acid Sequestrants, Fibrates, and Niacin
By the end of this section, you should be able to:
- 21.3.1 Identify the characteristics of bile acid sequestrant, fibrates, and niacin drugs used to lower lipid levels.
- 21.3.2 Explain the indications, action, adverse reactions, and interactions of bile acid sequestrant, fibrates, and niacin drugs used to lower lipid levels.
- 21.3.3 Describe nursing implications of bile acid sequestrant, fibrates, and niacin drugs used to lower lipid levels.
- 21.3.4 Explain the client education related to bile acid sequestrant, fibrates, and niacin drugs used to lower lipid levels.
Bile acid sequestrants, fibrates, and niacin vary in their mechanism, therapeutic effect, and side effect profile. Table 21.6 lists common bile acid sequestrants, fibrates, and niacin and typical routes and dosing for adult clients.
| Drug | Routes and Dosage Ranges |
|---|---|
|
Cholestyramine
( Questran ) |
Hyperlipidemia: Initiate at 4 g orally 1–2 times daily; increase gradually to 8–16 g orally in 2 divided doses; maximum dose 24 g/day. |
|
Cholesevelam
( Welchol ) |
Hyperlipidemia: 3.75 g/day orally in 1–2 divided doses. |
|
Colestipol
( Colestid ) |
Hyperlipidemia (tablets): Initial dose 2 g orally 1–2 times daily; increase by 2 g orally 1–2 times daily at 1–2-month intervals; maintenance dose is 2–16 g orally once daily or in divided doses. |
|
Fenofibrate
( Tricor ) |
Hypertriglyceridemia:
48–145 mg orally once daily; maximum dose is 145 mg.
Primary hypercholesterolemia or mixed dyslipidemia: Initial dose 145 mg once daily. |
|
Gemfibrozil
( Lopid ) |
Hypertriglyceridemia: 1200 mg administered orally in 2 divided doses 30 min before the morning and evening meals. |
| Niacin | Hyperlipidemia or hypertriglyceridemia (niacin extended-release prescription product): Initial dose 500 mg orally at bedtime after a low-fat snack; increase by no more than 500 mg in any 4-week period; maintenance dose is 1000–2000 mg once daily at bedtime. |
Bile Acid Sequestrants
Bile acid sequestrants are a class of drugs that lower cholesterol. Bile acids are made from cholesterol and are released from the small intestine to aid in fat digestion after the individual consumes food. The majority of bile acids are reabsorbed back into the body after use. Bile acid sequestrants work by binding to bile acids in the intestine, which reduces their absorption and decreases the amount of bile acids available in the body. The body compensates for this by producing more bile acids from cholesterol, effectively decreasing the amount of cholesterol that remains.
Bile acid sequestrants are often used as second-line therapy for hypercholesterolemia if clients do not achieve sufficient goals using first-line therapy or if they are intolerant to first-line therapy. Bile acid sequestrants can be expected to lower the LDL-cholesterol levels by 15%–30% (Grundy et al., 2019). Response to therapy is monitored by obtaining LDL-cholesterol levels. These drugs are orally administered and are not absorbed into the systemic circulation; therefore, they are best taken with meals so that they will encounter the bile acids upon secretion. However, their use is limited by frequency of dosing, an unfavorable gastrointestinal adverse effect profile, and their propensity for interaction with other drugs, which necessitates coordination of administration. Also, outcomes data in cardiovascular disease are lacking when used in combination with statins, the first-line therapy for hypercholesterolemia and cardiovascular risk reduction.
Three bile acid sequestrants are used for treating hyperlipidemia. The drugs have few distinguishing factors beyond the class effects listed here. Some of the differentiators are the available dosage forms (tablets, powder), administration instructions, and FDA-approved indications. These are summarized in Table 21.7; however, it is always best to check the specific product labeling for administration instructions.
| Drug | FDA-Approved Indications | Available Dosage Forms | Special Administration Instructions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cholestyramine |
|
|
Oral powder:
|
| Colesevelam |
|
|
Oral powder:
|
| Colestipol |
|
|
Oral powder:
|
Fibrates
Fibrates are a group of oral drugs that are used primarily to treat hypertriglyceridemia. They include fenofibric acid, fenofibrate, and gemfibrozil. They work by activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors. The primary result of this activation is lower triglyceride levels via increased expression of lipoprotein lipase, an enzyme that breaks down triglycerides. Fibrates also lead to increased HDL-cholesterol and mildly lower LDL-cholesterol levels; however, they are not typically recommended for those uses (Grundy et al., 2019). Adverse effects of fibrates include increased serum transaminase, creatine phosphokinase (CPK), and creatinine levels; myopathy; cholelithiasis; and venous thrombosis.
Fenofibric Acid Derivatives
Fenofibric acid is an active drug that directly stimulates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors as described above. It is available in the active form under the brand name Fibricor and as generic drugs. An inactive form called fenofibrate is also available; this form converts to fenofibric acid in the body after ingestion. Some of the available dosage forms of fenofibrate are Antara, Lipofen, Fenoglide, Tricor, Trilipix (choline fenofibrate), and their respective generic formulations. The various fenofibrate dosage forms are not bioequivalent and cannot be substituted for each other or for fenofibric acid on a milligram-per-milligram basis; they use different types of medication delivery technology to ensure absorption, including micronized particles, nanocrystals, and different salt forms.
Table 21.8 is a drug prototype table for fenofibric acid derivatives featuring fenofibrate. It lists drug class, mechanism of action, adult dosage, indications, therapeutic effects, drug and food interactions, adverse effects, and contraindications.
|
Drug Class
Fibric acid Mechanism of Action Activates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors to increase breakdown of triglycerides |
Drug Dosage
Primary hypercholesterolemia or mixed dyslipidemia: Initial dose 145 mg orally once daily; maximum dose 145 mg once daily. Severe hypertriglyceridemia: Initial dose 48–145 mg once daily; maximum dose 145 mg once daily. |
|
Indications
Primary hyperlipidemia or mixed dyslipidemia Severe hypertriglyceridemia Therapeutic Effects Reduces LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and apolipoprotein B; increases HDL-cholesterol |
Drug Interactions
Warfarin Immunosuppressants Bile acid sequestrants Colchicine Statins Food Interactions No significant interactions |
|
Adverse Effects
Abnormal liver function tests, including increased aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels Rhinitis |
Contraindications
Severe renal dysfunction, including dialysis Active liver disease Gallbladder disease Hypersensitivity Lactation Caution: Hepatotoxicity Myopathy and rhabdomyolysis Increases in serum creatinine Cholelithiasis |
Gemfibrozil
Gemfibrozil is another fibrate approved for the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia and for primary prevention of CAD in clients who have failed to respond to lifestyle changes and other pharmacologic therapies. Gemfibrozil is generally administered orally, twice daily, 30 minutes before breakfast and dinner. The most common adverse events are dyspepsia, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Less commonly, abnormal liver function tests and worsening renal function in those with baseline dysfunction have been reported. It is contraindicated in clients with severe hepatic or renal disease, preexisting gallbladder disease, or hypersensitivity to gemfibrozil.
Gemfibrozil is associated with several notable drug interactions. The concomitant use of gemfibrozil and rosuvastatin or simvastatin is contraindicated because of the risk of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis. If the client needs to take both a fibrate and a statin, it is safer to use a fenofibric acid derivative. Similarly, a client taking gemfibrozil with colchicine should be monitored for the same concerns of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis. Concomitant use with warfarin places the client at risk for bleeding, so frequent monitoring of the international normalized ratio is recommended until stabilization.
Safety Alert
Gemfibrozil
The nurse should clarify any medication orders that use abbreviations. For example, gemfibrozil could be abbreviated as “gem.” This could be confused with gemcitabine , a chemotherapy agent, with severe consequences. Learn more about error-prone abbreviations like this one by visiting the website for the Institute for Safe Medication Practices .
Niacin
Niacin (vitamin B 3 ) is a water-soluble vitamin. The chemical name for niacin is nicotinic acid. It is approved for treatment of hyperlipidemia, dyslipidemia, and hypertriglyceridemia; for secondary prevention of myocardial infarction; and, in combination with a bile acid sequestrant, for slowing the progression or promoting the regression of atherosclerotic disease. The specific mechanism of action of niacin in dyslipidemia is not well understood. It may increase the activity of lipoprotein lipase, the main enzyme that is affected by fibrates, or it may increase the rate of removal from plasma and decrease the rate of synthesis of LDL-cholesterol. The therapeutic effect in dyslipidemia is a reduction in triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol, and total cholesterol levels as well as an increase in HDL-cholesterol levels.
Niacin is available in various dosage forms. Many are considered dietary supplements and thus are not regulated by the FDA. Some of these dietary supplements are marketed as “flush-free” niacin; however, these flush-free versions have been shown to contain no free nicotinic acid and should not be used to treat dyslipidemia (National Institutes of Health, 2022). Prescription niacin products include extended-release and immediate-release formulations. Nurses should be aware that the various niacin preparations are not interchangeable on a milligram-per-milligram basis.
Adverse Effects and Contraindications
Bile acid sequestrants. Because these drugs are not absorbed into the systemic circulation, systemic adverse effects are limited; side effects from bile acid sequestrants are generally related to their effect on the gastrointestinal system. Constipation is the most common one; it can be severe and can aggravate hemorrhoids. Clients can minimize constipation by starting doses cautiously, taking one per day. It can also be managed with increased fluids and dietary fiber and, if needed, a stool softener. Other gastrointestinal adverse effects include abdominal pain, heartburn, loss of appetite, indigestion, diarrhea, and upset stomach.
Bile acid sequestrants also can cause an increase in triglyceride levels, which is typically mild. However, in clients with a triglyceride level of 300 mg/dL or higher at baseline, hypertriglyceridemia can be severe. With long-term therapy of high doses, absorption of some fat-soluble nutrients may be decreased, and supplementation of vitamins A, D, E, and K may be needed. In extreme cases, bleeding can occur due to an induced deficiency of vitamin K, which is needed for the synthesis of clotting factors. Additionally, bile acid sequestrants can interfere with the absorption of some drugs. Because of this, it is recommended that clients take other drugs at least 1 hour before or 3–4 hours after taking a bile acid sequestrant (Grundy et al., 2019).
Because of the high incidence of constipation, bile acid sequestrants are contraindicated in clients with a history of bowel obstruction. Because these drugs can increase triglycerides, they also are contraindicated in clients who have baseline hypertriglyceridemia or a history of pancreatitis due to hypertriglyceridemia.
Fibrates. The most common adverse effects of fibrates are elevated liver enzymes, increases in serum creatinine, and myopathy, especially when fibrates are combined with statin medications. They should not be used in clients who have active liver disease, gallbladder disease, severe renal dysfunction, or hypersensitivity (Singh & Correa, 2023).
Niacin. The most limiting adverse effect of niacin is flushing, which is most prominent in the immediate-release preparations. This occurs because niacin increases prostaglandins in capillaries, leading to cutaneous vasodilation. It can be managed by slowing down the niacin absorption rate by using a slower-release (extended-release) version or by administering a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) such as aspirin 30 minutes before niacin administration (National Institutes of Health, 2022). Clients taking niacin can minimize flushing by avoiding hot drinks and alcoholic beverages. Significant adverse effects include hepatotoxicity, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and hyperuricemia (National Institutes of Health, 2022).
Niacin is contraindicated in clients with active liver disease, unexplained or persistent elevations in hepatic transaminase levels, active peptic ulcer disease, arterial bleeding, or hypersensitivity to niacin or components of the formulation.
Nursing Implications
The nurse should do the following for clients taking bile acid sequestrants:
- Monitor for constipation and instruct client about appropriate management (increase fluids and dietary fiber and, if needed, take a stool softener).
- Administer other drugs at least 1 hour before or 3–4 hours after bile acid sequestrant administration.
- Mix powder dosage forms with fluid as appropriate.
- Monitor for deficiency of fat-soluble nutrients and recommend supplementation when needed.
- Administer with meals as directed by the health care provider.
- Provide client teaching regarding the drug and when to call the health care provider. See below for client teaching guidelines.
The nurse should do the following for clients taking fibrates:
- Obtain an accurate home medication list to assess for drug interactions.
- Avoid direct substitution of different forms of fenofibric acid because they are not interchangeable.
- Monitor for signs and symptoms of muscle-related adverse effects, especially when coadministered with a statin.
- Provide client teaching regarding the drug and when to call the health care provider. See below for client teaching guidelines.
The nurse should do the following for clients taking niacin:
- Assist the client in choosing appropriate over-the-counter versions when needed. Avoid flush-free niacin and choose extended-release products to maximize efficacy and minimize flushing.
- Administer an NSAID prior to administration if directed by the health care provider; if the client is already taking low-dose aspirin, the aspirin dose can be administered before niacin to limit additional NSAIDs.
- Provide client teaching regarding the drug and when to call the health care provider. See below for client teaching guidelines.
Client Teaching Guidelines
The client taking a bile acid sequestrant should:
- Take other drugs at least 1 hour before or 3–4 hours after bile acid sequestrant administration.
- Alert their health care provider, increase fluids and dietary fiber, and, if needed, take a stool softener if they experience constipation.
- Administer with meals as directed by their health care provider.
- Take vitamin supplementation if instructed to do so by their health care provider.
The client taking a fibrate should:
- Keep an accurate medication list so that health care professionals can assess for drug interactions.
- Monitor for adverse events and alert their health care provider with any concerns.
The client taking niacin should:
- Avoid choosing flush-free niacin for managing lipid levels.
- Ask their health care provider about possibly taking an NSAID before their niacin drug.
- Avoid hot drinks and alcoholic beverages around the time of administration to minimize flushing.


4.4: Meeting the Needs of Specific Groups
- Explain why a retailer would want to meet the needs of a specific group of people
Segmentation, targeting, and positioning are critical activities because they help focus marketing and sales resources more efficiently. That is, rather than marketing a product or actively trying to sell it across a wide swath of the total population, segmentation and targeting identify a sub-population of potential customers who are the most attractive and most accessible for the firm.
This practice is based upon both the long-term economic attractiveness of the segment and the firm’s organizational capabilities. The firm can optimize its marketing mix to position its offerings to meet these consumers’ needs. This both ensures that consumers’ needs are satisfied and creates a virtuous cycle wherein the firm can continue to innovate and develop products that suit its core consumers despite changing needs and demands.
Contributors and Attributions
- Meeting the Needs of Specific Groups. Authored by : Patrick Williams. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution


12.7: Modal Auxiliaries
We all need to express our moods and emotions, both in writing and in our everyday life. We do this by using modal auxiliaries to verbs.
Modal Auxiliaries
Modal auxiliaries are a type of helping verb that is used only with a main verb to help express the verb's mood.
The following is the basic formula for using a modal auxiliary:
| Subject | + | modal auxiliary | + | main verb |
| James | may | call |
There are ten main modal auxiliaries in English, which are shown in Table 12.7.
| Modal Auxiliary | Use | Modal Auxiliary + Main Verb |
|---|---|---|
| can | Expresses an ability or possibility | I can lift this forty-pound box. (ability) |
| We can embrace green sources of energy. (possibility) | ||
| could | Expresses an ability in the past; a present possibility; a past or future permission | I could beat you at chess when we were kids. (past ability) |
| We could bake a pie! (present possibility) | ||
| Could we pick some flowers from the garden? (future permission) | ||
| may | Expresses uncertain future action; permission; ask a yes-no question | I may attend the concert. (uncertain future action) |
| You may begin the exam. (permission) | ||
| May I attend the concert? (yes-no questions) | ||
| might | Expresses uncertain future action | I might attend the concert (uncertain future action—same as may ) |
| shall | Expresses intended future action | I shall go to the opera. (intended future action) |
| should | Expresses obligation; ask if an obligation exists | I should mail my RSVP. (obligation, same as ought to ) |
| Should I call my mother? (asking if an obligation exists) | ||
| will | Expresses intended future action; ask a favor; ask for information | I will get an A in this class. (intended future action) |
| Will you buy me some chocolate? (favor) | ||
| Will you be finished soon? (information) | ||
| would | States a preference; request a choice politely; explain an action; introduce habitual past actions | I would like the steak, please. (preference) |
| Would you like to have breakfast in bed? (request a choice politely) | ||
| I would go with you if I didn’t have to babysit tonight. (explain an action) | ||
| He would write to me every week when we were dating. (habitual past action) | ||
| must | Expresses obligation | We must be on time for class. |
| ought to | Expresses obligation | I ought to mail my RSVP. (obligation, same as may) |
Use the following format to form a yes-no (closed) question with a modal auxiliary:
| Modal auxiliary | + | subject | + | main verb |
| Should | I | drive? |
Be aware of these four common errors when using modal auxiliaries:
-
Using an infinitive instead of a base verb after a modal
Incorrect: I can to move this heavy table.
Correct: I can move this heavy table.
-
Using a gerund instead of an infinitive or a base verb after a modal
Incorrect: I could moving to the United States.
Correct: I could move to the United States.
-
Using two modals in a row
Incorrect: I should must renew my passport.
Correct: I must renew my passport.
Correct : I should renew my passport.
-
Leaving out a modal
Incorrect: I renew my passport.
Correct: I must renew my passport.
Exercise 1
Edit the following short paragraph by correcting the common modal auxiliary errors.
I may to go to France on vacation next summer. I shall might visit the Palace of Versailles. I would to drive around the countryside. I could imagining myself living there; however, I will not move to France because my family should miss me very much.
Modals and Present Perfect Verbs
In the previous section, we defined present perfect verb tense as describing a continuing situation or something that has just happened.
-
Incorrect:
Jamie would had attended the party, but he was sick.
Correct: Jamie would have attended the party, but he was sick.
-
Incorrect:
Jamie would attended the party, but he was sick.
Correct: Jamie would have attended the party, but he was sick.
Exercise 2
On a separate sheet of paper, complete the following sentences by changing the given verb form to a modal auxiliary in present perfect tense.
- The man ________ (laugh).
- The frogs ________ (croak).
- My writing teacher ________ (smile).
- The audience ________ (cheer) all night.
- My best friend ________ (giggled).
If you would like a more in-depth view of modal verbs, watch the following video:
Contributors and Attributions
CC LICENSED CONTENT, SHARED PREVIOUSLY:
- Adapted from C ollege ESL Writers: Applied Grammar and Composing Strategies for Success . Authored by: Barbara Hall and Elizabeth Wallace. Provided by: GALILEO Open Learning Materials. License: CC BY-NC-SA (3.0): Attribution.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CONTENT
- Anglo-Link: Modal Verbs -- English Grammar and Conversation Lession (All Modals). Authored by: Anglo-Link. License: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. License terms: Standard YouTube License.


10: Numerical Integration of ODEs
This article describes the numerical methods for solving the initial-value problem , which is a standard type of problem appearing in many fields of physics. Suppose we have a system whose state at time \(t\) is described by a vector \(\vec{y}(t)\), which obeys the first-order ordinary differential equation (ODE) for the form:
\[\frac{d\vec{y}}{dt} = \vec{F}\Big(\vec{y}(t), t\Big).\]
Here, \(\vec{F}\) is some given vector-valued function, whose inputs are (i) the instantaneous state \(\vec{y}(t)\) and (ii) the current time \(t\). Then, given an initial time \(t_{0}\) and an initial state \(\vec{y}(t_0)\), the goal is to find \(\vec{y}(t)\) for subsequent times.
Conceptually, the initial value problem is distinct from the problem of solving an ODE discussed in the article on finite-difference equations. There, we were given a pair of boundaries with certain boundary conditions, and the goal was to find the solution between the two boundaries. In this case, we are given the state at an initial time \(t_{0}\), and our goal is to find \(\vec{y}(t)\) for some set of future times \(t > t_0\). This is sometimes referred to as "integrating" the ODE, because the solution has the form
\[\vec{y}(t) = \vec{y}(t_0)\, +\, \int^t_{t_0} dt' \;\vec{F}\Big(\vec{y}(t'), t'\Big).\]
However, unlike ordinary numerical integration (i.e., the computing of a definite integral), the value of the integrand is not known in advance, because of the dependence of \(\vec{F}\) on the unknown \(\vec{y}(t)\).


5: Further Applications of Newton's Laws- Friction, Drag, and Elasticity
It is difficult to categorize forces into various types (aside from the four basic forces discussed in previous chapter). We know that a net force affects the motion, position, and shape of an object. It is useful at this point to look at some particularly interesting and common forces that will provide further applications of Newton’s laws of motion. We have in mind the forces of friction, air or liquid drag, and deformation.
-
- 5.1: Friction
- Friction is a force that is around us all the time that opposes relative motion between systems in contact but also allows us to move (which you have discovered if you have ever tried to walk on ice). While a common force, the behavior of friction is actually very complicated and is still not completely understood. We have to rely heavily on observations for whatever understandings we can gain.
-
- 5.2: Drag Forces
- You feel the drag force when you move your hand through water. You might also feel it if you move your hand during a strong wind. The faster you move your hand, the harder it is to move. You feel a smaller drag force when you tilt your hand so only the side goes through the air—you have decreased the area of your hand that faces the direction of motion. Like friction, the drag force always opposes the motion of an object.
-
- 5.3: Elasticity - Stress and Strain
- A change in shape due to the application of a force is a deformation. Even very small forces are known to cause some deformation. For small deformations, two important characteristics are observed. First, the object returns to its original shape when the force is removed—that is, the deformation is elastic for small deformations. Second, the size of the deformation is proportional to the force—that is, for small deformations, Hooke’s law is obeyed.
Thumbnail: Weight (W), the frictional force (F r ), and the normal force (F n ) impacting a cube. Weight is mass (m) multiplied by gravity (g). (CC-SA-BY-3.0; Email4mobile ).


8.1: What Are Content Management Systems?
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe what a content management system is and what it is used for
- Explain the ways businesses benefit from using content management systems
- Distinguish between different types of content
- Evaluate common features of content management systems
The ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphic writing, a unique form of sharing content, for administrative, business, literary, religious, and scientific purposes. Hieroglyphic writing was typically shape- and picture-oriented. We see similarities with content created today for social media and other platforms using shapes and other visual elements to convey a message. In today’s industrialized cultures, humans share content through various platforms, including websites and social media across other various devices. Content refers to information in visual or audio form—text, art, numbers, or images—that is intended for an end user. The material presented can be viewed as data, information, or knowledge.
- Data, usually presented in numeric form, is content that can be analyzed, such as facts and figures. For example, a company can use data on the number of customers visiting its website to determine the return on investment (ROI) of its marketing efforts. The term data is also used to refer to the characters or symbols used by a system and transmitted into different media.
- Information , in the form of text, audio, video, or images, consists of data that is put into context—statements or facts that help users arrive at an answer to a specific question or problem. For example, the managers at Happy Tails WC can use data gathered from the new website, such as the number of views and the location where those viewers come from, to better understand the market for their nonprofit. The data has been put into the context and used to answer a specific question. Happy Tails WC can then use this data to tailor messages to specific locations or to plan events for specific populations who visit the website often.
- Knowledge refers to familiarity with or understanding of skills, facts, or objects, which an individual develops by analyzing or interacting with them—for example, company performance measures.
For the pet adoption agency, these concepts are as relevant as they would be for any business. The agency board would need to gather data on the cost factors related to the adoption of each pet and the associated veterinarian bills. They might also want to keep track of the number of adoption applications by a pet (e.g., dog versus cat) or breed that comes into the agency. Relevant information would include pictures of the adoptable pets, text about the history of the adoption agency, or videos showing the adopted pets in their new homes. Finally, using the data and information, the agency’s board members could determine how to strategically grow the agency to accommodate more pets or volunteers. They could also use the facts gathered to seek out specific donations or grant opportunities to help the budget each month.
What Is Content Management?
To understand content and its management, revisit WorldCorp’s volunteer work with Happy Tails. Since the adoption agency is newly formed, it needs help developing its brand, or organizational identity, as well as an online presence to publicize both the company and the pets available for adoption. This will require the development, distribution, and updating of a variety of multimedia content, including new branding (images, color schemes, logos, and slogans). There will be some design work involved, and we will cover some principles of design a bit later in the chapter. But for now, your teams will need to think broadly about all the aspects of creating and managing content for this small, startup organization.
You have begun by asking the leaders at Happy Tails WC to answer some questions so you and your team can start building the brand for the organization. Their answers will guide the development of the content for the website and other aspects of the organization, both in print and online. Figure 8.3 shows a few questions to consider when creating content and developing a brand image.
The content management process will vary depending on the size of the organization, particularly in the realm of content creation. In large corporations, there are often entire departments, such as information technology (IT) and marketing, working together on these efforts. Furthermore, within these departments there will be experts on website development, social media marketing, and other similar functions, who will have primary responsibility for a small portion of content management. It would be rare to find a single person handling all content management for the business; rather, this would be a dedicated team effort. Teams need to work cooperatively with nearly all business functions, including sales, accounting, and purchasing, to develop the appropriate content and strategies used to maintain that content to meet their diverse needs.
In some cases, a large corporation might choose to outsource content management to a vendor that specializes in this service. Managing content can take time and expertise. A large company may decide that the time and effort involved in content management might be better spent on the products or services they provide, rather than on building a website and posting to social media sites.
You can also expect that large corporations will have content specific to their internal audience (perhaps a company website for employees only) as well as content for external audiences. You might have some experience with this idea at your school. On the school website, you might see a link or an area specially for students. This might include links for your class schedule or where to order books. You probably also need a password to access that area. The general website then contains information for an external audience: prospective students or community members who want to find out more about the college. These two different audience types require different types of content, and as such, different ways of managing that data and information.
A content management system (CMS) is an application that uses a set of processes to manage web content, social media content, and other information online, which allows multiple contributors to collect, create, edit, and publish content. These processes go beyond simply creating and maintaining a website. A CMS could also include managing multiple social media platforms as well as internal company sites where information is stored. In a CMS, the content is stored in a database and displayed when accessed. Information stored in a CMS is usually referred to as digital content . A company can update, delete, or add information as needed. The best content management systems offer capabilities that include site design, content authoring, editing, and personalization. The personalization might include items specific to the industry or company, such as online sales capabilities or an event calendar that could be useful for Happy Tails WC employees as they plan fundraising or pet adoption events.
The CMS is integral to delivering rich digital experiences across all digital channels and enables organizations to manage multiple websites, support more than one language, and deliver a consistent customer experience. These experiences could be through social media platforms such as X (formerly well known as Twitter) or TikTok, or even through emails that prompt the customer to click on a link to find out more information.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) utilized a CMS to successfully launch its Earth Hour campaign in 2020, demonstrating the advantages of employing a robust content management system. By leveraging a CMS, WWF effectively managed the challenges associated with handling high-volume traffic to its website, ensuring that visitors encountered no impediments in terms of speed, security, or reliability. This seamless user experience was vital for maintaining user engagement and maximizing campaign impact.
By utilizing a CMS, the WWF was able to gain valuable insights into user behavior, preferences, and interactions with its website. This understanding of the customer journey allowed it to make informed decisions to optimize its online presence and tailor its content to better resonate with its target audience with the goal of enhancing engagement, fostering brand loyalty, and driving desired actions from their audience.
An improved customer experience yields a multitude of benefits for businesses. First, it enhances customer satisfaction. Satisfied customers are more likely to continue engaging with a brand, make repeat purchases, and recommend the brand to others. A positive customer experience can significantly impact customer retention rates, reducing customer churn and associated costs.
Furthermore, a better understanding of the customer experience enables businesses to identify pain points, optimize customer journeys, and streamline its processes. This can result in improved operational efficiency, reduced customer support costs, and increased conversion rates. By utilizing a CMS to gather and analyze customer data, businesses can identify patterns, trends, and preferences, enabling them to make data-driven decisions, refine their marketing strategies, and deliver personalized experiences.
To illustrate the power of a CMS-driven campaign, consider the example of WWF’s Earth Hour campaign. Its campaign goals included raising awareness about environmental conservation and mobilizing a global movement for a sustainable future. By leveraging a CMS, WWF efficiently created, managed, and analyzed content related to the campaign, ranging from engaging articles, visually captivating images, and impactful videos. The CMS enabled the company to disseminate consistent messaging across various digital channels, effectively reach its target audience, and foster meaningful engagement.
A CMS empowers organizations to seamlessly launch campaigns, gather crucial customer data, and derive actionable insights. Understanding the customer experience is pivotal for businesses as it drives customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. By utilizing a CMS, organizations can create personalized experiences, optimize customer journeys, and meet specific campaign goals, ultimately propelling their business success.
There are seven stages of the content management lifecycle : (1) organization , (2) creation , (3) storage , (4) workflow , (5) editing/versioning , (6) publishing , and (7) removal/archiving (see Figure 8.4). In the organization stage, the company’s goals, processes, and requirements are examined to establish measurable indicators for meeting the company’s objectives. The creation stage allows the authoring of original content using editing tools, web forms, and other media tools. At this stage, a company might be concerned with design such as color choices and graphics. At the storage stage, decisions are made about how content will be formatted and stored to facilitate access, delivery, and security based on company use. In the workflow stage, rules are designed to streamline processes, ensuring consistency and adherence to company policies. Editing/versioning involves accountability and tracking of multiple versions of content, such as updates, edits, retrieval, and deletion of files. The publishing stage releases content to users so it is available to view on the front end (customers) and back end (employees). Finally, in the removal / archiving stage , content that is obsolete or infrequently accessed is either deleted or relocated to an archive. You will probably go back to the editing and removal stages frequently as new content is added or as the business grows.
A CMS helps an organization work through most stages of the content management lifecycle, starting with creation. Its tools allow a company to design their brand and publish/maintain the content on the internet. Now let’s look at how the content management lifecycle applies to Happy Tails.
After gathering answers to the questions you posed to Happy Tails leadership, you have a clearer picture of the image they want to convey and how they want to use their online presence. These answers give you the information you need for the organization stage. For example, you now understand that Happy Tails wants to use their online presence not only for marketing their available pets, but also for fundraising efforts and special events. You also know that they want to highlight not only pets available for adoption, but also success stories from previous placements of pets with families. Happy Tails has indicated they want their brand to be fresh and engaging, and to communicate the benefits of pet ownership.
Next, the creation stage will solidify the brand, logo, and color choices for Happy Tails WC. This stage will take a bit of time as you expect that organizational leadership will want to get feedback from others on the choices. The next two stages, storage and workflow, will involve more in-depth discussions with Happy Tails WC. They will need to decide who will maintain and update the content, who will be responsible for responding to messages from potential adopting families, and how the content will be kept secure and up to date.
Additional tasks related to keeping the content current will occur in the editing/versioning stage. Here, Happy Tails WC might consider developing a calendar of content and sites (social media posts) to use for scheduling updates and posts. There will be more about this later in the chapter. Finally, once the content is ready to be published and made available on the internet, there will need to be a plan in place to archive material as needed, including old posts, past events, and other related material, to ensure that content remains current.
Benefits of Using a Content Management System
There are several advantages to using a CMS in any organization. One advantage is the ability to update the public frequently on organizational news. For example, Happy Tails WC might want to be able to keep blog posts as new pets become available for adoption and to have the blog posts match the social media post for each pet. Figure 8.5 shows an example of a site that uses blogs. (You will often see Latin text on template websites. It’s to show that you can put whatever text you want there.) You will see that what may seem like a simple task actually involves many steps that need to be documented and managed. This is where a CMS comes in.
Consider that for each update to the website that is needed, the marketing team needs to reach out to members of the adoption agency who manage the list of adoptable pets. You might start by sending an email to the agency director, Tracy, who updates the document you need and then sends it back for you to update the website with the new information. One day, you discover that Tracy is on leave for a week. This delays the process, as you need to find someone else in the organization who can assist you. You locate Domenic, but he is a volunteer who works another full-time job and may not be available to return your call for a few days. By the time your inquiry is first seen, several days may have passed and you’ve missed the best window of opportunity.
In this scenario, a CMS can help overcome the challenges posed by the back-and-forth transmittal of materials, communication lapses, and scheduling. A CMS can centralize content and information sharing so that documents, images, and other assets are accessible to all users at all times. Content can be edited, organized, stored, and shared through the CMS. This will enable users from across different departments and even different time zones to access the material they need to manage.
There are several benefits to using a CMS to operate your company website and to manage other digital content.
Collaboration
First, a CMS promotes team collaboration by allowing multiple users/authors to access content from almost any location. This increases productivity and helps streamline processes by distributing responsibility for different tasks. For example, imagine you are working to update content and databases that are associated with the company’s email communications. The author of a specific piece of content can give you access to edit, upload, and delete that content, saving you time and allowing you to focus your efforts on quality control.
Quality Control
This leads to another benefit of using a CMS: quality control. The workflow for the new campaign requires different departments to update specific content. For example, the marketing and sales team may be given permission to update the branding and pricing on the site, but not to update any other information. As a volunteer for the pet adoption agency, you may have the ability to update information on adoptable pets but not to change the overall structure of the website. By controlling who is able to access what, a CMS allows content updates to be reviewed by an approver before they go live on the site. Using a CMS also helps to maintain consistency in message and appearance. By using the system to set design standards such as color choices, preferred logos, and pictures, you can ensure that the brand is kept intact and that messages are being constructed in a consistent manner across platforms.
User-Friendly Interface
Another benefit of a CMS is its user-friendly interface, which often does not require knowledge of programming languages to change website content. Design changes are also simplified, involving less effort than traditional methods of designing and adding content to a website. Although some understanding of HTML and CSS (common programming languages for websites) can be helpful, it is not a requirement for managing and editing content in a CMS. Employees may be experts in their content area and have innovative ideas but may lack the coding experience to translate these ideas into web content. Instead of studying a programming language, employees using a CMS can spend their time learning how to use the system to complete their daily tasks, inputting images, audio, video, text, and other multimedia with the click of a button or via a drag-and-drop feature.
Website Optimization
A CMS also automates certain website needs, such as optimizing keywords to help more people find your site or social media accounts. Without a CMS, this function is done manually by assigning keywords to specific pages within your website and by linking keywords and URLs. This functionality is called search engine optimization (SEO) . A CMS can enable you to set up your website to get the greatest possible exposure when someone searches on a topic related to your site. For example, Happy Tails WC might use SEO to tag keywords such as “pets,” “animal shelters,” “adopting a dog,” and other related phrases so the website appears near the top of the list in an internet search. Doing this manually could take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the number of pages managed. Also, entering each URL individually creates a risk of introducing human error. Using a CMS eliminates the need for you to manually enter a URL for each page on the website. You will learn more about SEO in Search Engine Optimization.
As you can see, a CMS adds value by providing tools for team collaboration, quality control, user-friendly interfaces, and automation of certain functions. Other benefits include content organization, use of templates and themes, and multilingual and multisite support.
Types of Content
Various types of content can be managed through a CMS, including web, mobile, enterprise, and social media, as Figure 8.6 displays. Each plays a different role in creating the overall image of an organization and managing the content that is available online.
Content on a website is managed with a web content management system (WCMS) . These systems offer website authoring, collaboration, and administration tools. An advantage of using a WCMS is that employees do not have to understand web programming languages in order to use these systems. Instead, they can manage content within the website, using features that give them the ability to design, organize, and update information. Managers can also control content by viewing and approving material before publishing. As described earlier, employees can be trained to use the features of the platform rather than needing to spend time learning the mechanics of a new programming language.
A CMS can also be used to manage the content contained in social media sites. These sites were developed primarily for connecting with others to create a virtual network of friends and connections. These social media platforms have evolved since their inception and are now a source of marketing and connecting with customers for businesses. Social media content management is the process of creating, scheduling, publishing, and analyzing content for all your media platforms. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, X (Twitter), and TikTok have specific audiences and features that require customization when developing original content. Content is tailored to the target audience, and strategies are developed to distribute and manage social media profiles. These strategies include monitoring engagement, collaborating with influencers, building a community, and analyzing reports to ensure you are receiving an adequate ROI. You will learn more about social media engagement in Social Media in Business.
Sometimes it is necessary to make adjustments to websites and content so that it will display on mobile devices properly. Again, a CMS can help make a company’s online presence compatible across a wide variety of devices. A mobile content management system (MCMS) hosts a data store in a centralized location and allows content to be managed across multiple platforms. The MCMS may be a mobile app that needs to be managed for different devices (iPhone, iPad) and platforms (iOS, Android) from a single tool. Another type of MCMS consists of a responsive mobile website design that can manage content by displaying information effectively regardless of the size of the screen.
It is generally necessary to maintain digital content for internal company use. This content could include employee-specific information, such as payroll and benefits information; documents that are meant only for certain departments within the organization; or pertinent strategic goals that are not publicly available. This is known as enterprise content management , often referred to as document management. It facilitates the life cycle of content within an organization, using strategies and tools designed to increase productivity and provide the information employees need to complete their job duties. The enterprise content management system is company-wide, not just for one department. The system allows processes to be implemented by presenting a timeline for the organization’s content—including Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, and scanned images—to be created, approved, and distributed.
For your role in developing the digital content for Happy Tails WC, various types of content must be created and managed by different individuals in the organization, including both paid staff and volunteers. Using a CMS allows for easy development, upload, analysis, and management without the need to receive information via email from another department. At first, you will be doing the majority of the work on uploading content. But the plan is to train Happy Tails WC employees to take over that role as they become more familiar with working in a CMS environment.
Once Happy Tails WC has been trained to use the CMS, they can assign different levels of access and allow various types of content to be distributed. The next challenge is to assign specific types of content to different individuals to optimize the workflow. This could mean that the fundraising director has control over fundraising event information and the donations section of the website, whereas the adoption coordinator or Tracy, the director, maintains the current list of adoptable pets. Also, if an issue or problem needs to be addressed, more than one person can have access to view information and retrieve documents to help reach a resolution in case the primary responsible person is not available.
Primary Features of Content Management Systems
Here, we will identify the primary features of CMS and their uses. These features and uses correspond to different parts of the content management lifecycle discussed earlier in the chapter (see Figure 8.4). A major benefit of many content management systems is that they contain different features that allow their users to control every part of the content management lifecycle.
Content Creation and Editing
The first two stages of the content management lifecycle are centered on organizing and creating content. However, that content will likely need be edited regularly to keep the information fresh and current. Creating and editing content is a critical function of any CMS.
Many content management systems include the use of page templates , which are predesigned and preformatted documents that maximize productivity by offering defined layouts customized for common uses, such as social media, website banners, blogs, letters, and presentations. We have discussed templates in Word and PowerPoint in previous chapters. Templates determine the specific size, structure, or layout that will best meet the needs of the document. The designs and types of documents can be categorized into themes, and an employee can select a theme for a campaign that aligns with the mood or use or customer base. Using page templates also helps maintain quality control.
A content editor allows users to easily review the style and format of the content in a document, which provides optimal design and readability. This editor may also offer drag-and-drop editing, which is a user-friendly function that assists nonprogrammers in designing, editing, and arranging content. This is especially important for Happy Trails WC since you will be training employees to eventually edit, maintain, and update content for the organization themselves.
A feature that allows anyone in the company to add content to a thread of posts is called blogging capability . Users can upload images, tag keywords, and use an editor to style and format their posts. Additional features include password protection for posts, which is ideal for memberships or communities that want to offer exclusivity. This is where you hope to feature Happy Tails WC adoption success stories. The plan is to have a regular spotlight through the blog to share the story.
Another critical functionality of any CMS is its storage system. Managing assets, like digital images, must be maintained to use those assets in any product. A library of images, like the one in Figure 8.7, or documents can be managed in a CMS, giving you the option of adding an image within your content. Images are stored within a central image library, and the multiple file upload feature allows users to add different files to a site at once. The library feature helps with archiving as well.
Publishing
Workflow and publishing are two key stages in the content management lifecycle as previously covered. Once your content is ready to be public, you want to publish the information online. Using content syndication enables a third party to reuse original content and host it on another website, where it can reach a larger audience. Also, through the calendaring features, users can plan content by scheduling future dates and times to release information. This puts structure to the workflow of content creation. This is especially important for organizations such as Happy Tails WC, where those managing the content have multiple job responsibilities.
As an example, content management is just a small part of what Tracy does for Happy Tails WC. Happy Tails WC can use the calendaring function to schedule reminder posts of upcoming events so that they can focus on the actual tasks in planning the event. In larger organizations such as World Corp, which maintains multiple websites and social media sites, the calendaring function can make uploading current content more efficient as content can be scheduled weeks in advanced and synced across platforms.
Finally, e-commerce features are critical in today’s market. Built-in CMS software will enable users to create product description pages; design the layout of the website, including payment information; track shipping; and offer email sales funnels and promotions. This feature offers the ability to provide access to content from several devices, including mobile devices. Happy Tails WC hopes in the future to be able to sell branded products such as dog and owner matching clothing with the Happy Tails WC logo. They also plan to accept online monetary donations through the site, so this will need to be included during the organization and creation stage of the process.
Because Happy Tails WC is a new organization, they are still trying to establish a presence and get their name out to the community. Through analyzing information from their online presence, Happy Tails WC can get an idea of how their marketing efforts are working. A CMS typically provides web analytics —insights or data that can be evaluated against company objectives. For example, you can gain a visual display of how many users visited a post, commented, and shared content. This data can be used to make changes to content, inform decisions about particular initiatives, and help create new content. For example, if you notice that a fundraising event scheduled for Happy Tails WC is not getting many visits, you can discuss with Tracy new strategies on ways to market the event. Or if the analytics show that most people who visit the Happy Tails WC website go first to the success stories blog, perhaps you make that page more central to your message and overall image.
Security and Management Features
Larger organizations often have an administrator who oversees multiple site licenses, including local and maybe even international sites. In this case, they might need to have one global administrator to manage all sites as well as an individual administrator for each site. You can set permissions for global administrators to manage all of the sites and also set individual permissions for those administrators managing specific sites.
This feature could also be important for Happy Tails WC. To maintain a consistent and clear message, the organization wants to limit access to key personnel in the organization. Tracy, as the director, could be identified as the global administrator, and the fundraising coordinator might also be an administrator, but with more limited permissions. This structure can evolve as the organization grows and as personnel changes occur. As the users at Happy Tails WC become more familiar with the site and with content management in general, they will need to discuss the permissions and who should have certain permissions. This is part of the workflow stage of the content management lifecycle. But it should be revisited regularly to make sure things are working and the permissions are set appropriately.
Using a content management system makes establishing and changing permissions easy. Many content management systems have access controls that allow user groups to be restricted or limited to viewing specific pages within the website. Users who are not registered can be denied access to a page until they can provide the required username and password to access that content. Logging in typically gives users access to features of the website that are unavailable to unregistered users.
Content versioning allows you to keep documentation of any changes made in the organization of content. You can view, restore, or compare any content in the system, including pages, database entries, media files, shares, older and newer versions of content, and deleted and restored files. This is a key part of the removal and archiving stage. You will be able to compare versions of items by viewing a modification log that identifies all content changes. A history of how the content has been managed will provide insight on when changes were made and usually will include keywords such as edit, publish, and delete .
Goals of CMS to the Enterprise
Content management systems simplify the process of creating, organizing, and publishing content, empowering website owners or content creators to manage their digital presence effectively. Through a CMS , content can be managed from start to finish to improve the quality of the output, as well as to avoid duplicating efforts. Digital storage, data collection, and data distribution need to work together in a CMS to promote system functionality. When the system is functioning well, it helps maintain the image of the “brand.” For Happy Tails WC, developing a strong brand online is vital, as it is a new organization. It wants to make sure that the mission, logo, location, and other related items are consistently and effectively communicated online through a variety of platforms. A CMS is intentionally designed as a “one-stop shop” for all content. For many organizations, the investment in the program from both a financial and learning standpoint is well worth the benefits in the long run.
Information storage and retrieval involves collecting and cataloging data to be accessed on demand, making use of keywords to search for specific documents. Data collection gathers important information via forms or surveys. A CMS can provide data fields in which users can enter their information, building a profile for future use. Finally, using a CMS for data distribution (including news, updates, policy, and documentation) enables company employees to avoid going through marketing and communication teams to approve content for publishing. Instead, subject matter experts (SMEs) can deliver content directly within the website and reach their target audience, whether the data is original content or is extracted from external sources. Establishing processes to manage data distribution can lead to fewer errors when data is disseminated in several places within the website.


2.1: Writers are Mythical, Magical, and Damaged
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- Cheryl E. Ball & Drew M. Loewe ed.
- West Virginia University via Digital Publishing Institute and West Virginia University Libraries
Authors:
- Teri Holbrook, Georgia State University
- Melanie Hundley, Vanderbilt University
In two recent conversations, we heard comments that show the images of writers people carry in their heads. “Oh, you know how writers are,” said one guest to another over dinner. “They live in a garret and observe the world from somewhere above the rest of us.” At a bookstore, a middle-school student stood among the stacks of books and stated, “Authors aren’t real people. They’re like fairies who wave their wands and stories get created.” These two views—author-in-garret and author-as-wand-waver—point to an abiding notion about writers circulated in popular culture: They are different from—and perhaps somewhat above—you and me. In addition to being magical beings not of this world, they are also fragile and incapable of dealing with the routines and stresses of daily life, so they drink, do drugs, need help, and occasionally slip into murderous madness. These traits make up four of the most prevalent representations of writers in the media, and they present a problem. After all, given these kinds of on-the-job hazards, who would ever aspire to the writing life?
Popular Portrait #1: Writers Possess Magical Gifts
This view of writers supports the idea that since writing is magical, it isn’t work. Writing just...happens. Journalists may doggedly follow leads, but they pound out articles on deadline with nary a misstep (or an editor). Authors, well dressed and carefully coiffed, appear on talk shows promoting work that is already bound and jacketed. Absent is what Stephen King calls the grunt work , which happens when authors wrestle with the page. King himself plays on the portrait of writer as magical in his depiction of Paul Sheldon, the main character in Misery . In the film version
of the book, James Caan serenely types “The End” on the last page of his manuscript and adds it to the neat stack of papers on his desk. Done—no fevered rewriting, no crossing out or starting over. His writing is effortless and over in the first few minutes of the film. The rest of the story is devoted to the extraordinary power his words have over his biggest fan. Another common depiction of writer as magical can be found in crime-solving novelists such as Murder She Wrote’s Jessica Fletcher, a gifted observer who sees details the police miss. Fletcher and her ilk do not actively write while on screen; their authoring labor is unseen, conducted in spare time not dedicated to stopping crime. These depictions perpetuate the idea that writing isn’t just easy—it’s magical work done by super-exceptional people.
Popular Portrait #2: Writers Are Recluses
The myth that writers are somehow magical and, therefore, not part of this world leads to another perception of writers: They either are not capable of handling the real world or they make the clear decision to remove themselves from it. This myth is perpetuated by the well-circulated mystiques of such reclusive literary figures as J.D. Salinger, Thomas Pynchon, and Harper Lee and is part of the lore about writing perpetuated in elementary through high-school English language arts classes. (A quick Google search brings up numerous sites with listings and articles about famed reclusive writers as well as novels and films directed at middle grades and young adult readers, such as John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Gus Van Sant’s Finding Forrester .) Several films have traded on the notion of author-as-recluse. In the Jodie Foster vehicle Nim’s Island , based on Wendy Orr’s children’s book, a young girl writes to the author of her favorite action stories expecting that she will rescue her, only to discover that the author is agoraphobic, germaphobic, and cannot deal with the world outside her apartment. In As Good As It Gets , Jack Nicholson plays a writer who tries to control his obsessive-compulsiveness by devising rules for engaging with the outside world. If we broaden the portrait of writer to include publishers—the people who create the larger structures in which writers construct their works—then we can consider Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane , a film about a brilliant newspaper publisher’s life-long retreat into isolation. These films represent writers as damaged or fragile people whose magical gifts allow them to share imaginative worlds with their readers even as they restrict their participation in the real world around them.
Popular Portrait #3: Writers Abuse Alcohol and Other Substances
As with the writer-as-recluse representation, the writer-as-alcoholic trope is supported by real-life examples. Among famous writers who were alcoholics are Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, to name just a few. Whether or not alcoholism is an occupational hazard is much contested among authors. Donald W. Goodwin has published some of the opposing views, quoting Alistair Cooke’s claim that alcohol “has no more connection with writing than with plumbing” and Michael Crichton’s observation of “how many people in ‘the arts’... are heavy drinkers, and for that matter how many do not drink at all, in that careful, somewhat embarrassed manner which indicated a drinking problem somewhere in the past.” Goodwin presents a variety of data that support the stance that writers have a higher rate of alcoholism than the general population, and writers who create representations of authors in popular culture often echo that perception. From Ray Milland’s portrayal of an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder’s movie The Lost Weekend to Paul Giamatti’s rendition of the wine-tasting struggling writer in Alexander Payne’s movie, Sideways , writers have been depicted as masking their anxieties and fears with alcohol.
Popular Portrait #4: Writers (And Their Fans) Are Scary
Ever since Mary Shelley penned her famous first novel, in which Dr. Victor Frankenstein tells the story of his creation experiments to an eager young writer-turned-ship’s-captain, authors in fiction have been associated with suspense and horror. One of the most widely recognized and satirized examples of this representation is Stephen King’s Jack Torrance from The Shining . Snowbound in a cavernous hotel with his wife and son, struggling author Torrance slowly descends into madness, as revealed by his chilling and repetitive writings. The writer-as-madman trope is also used in Robert Altman’s film The Player , in which a studio executive is sent death threats by a rejected screenwriter. In Joel and Ethan Coen’s Barton Fink , the main character is a writer who is not so much a madman himself but is embroiled in a 1940s Hollywood that is macabre, violent, and surreal. The associations between authors and horror also extend to the depiction of fictional readers; in Misery, Stephen King creates a story in which the outcome of a fan’s devotion is violence and murder. In these representations of authors (and readers), writers inhabit frightening worlds where they are either threatened or pose threats to those around them.
So Who Are Writers, Really, and Why Does it Matter?
The four portraits discussed here are not the only iconic representations of writers circulating in popular culture, but they are among the most prevalent ones. And they present a problem. In Inkheart , Cornelia Funke writes of a character that knew all kinds of people who surrounded themselves with books but had never actually met anyone who wrote books. There are two ways to read this observation: that the character had never met an author, or the portraits of authors she carried in her head did not match the people around her who crafted narratives by putting words on paper. We take up this second reading because it points to the difficulty of accepting the iconic representations of writers popularized in novels, films, and television: They often do not depict the majority of working writers who live the day-in, day-out writing life, and they misrepresent or too easily summarize what writing practices entail.
The view that writing is effortless and done on the side by extraordinary people dismisses the real effort writers put into their work, which has multiple ramifications. For starters, it makes the hard work of writing invisible, discouraging young writers who might dismiss their own labored efforts as evidence that they just don’t have what it takes. It also devalues the products of writing, feeding into the idea that a writer’s intellectual property is unimportant and the need to pay writers for their work is unnecessary. If authors can lead the writing life in their spare time (when not solving crimes, for example), then how valuable in terms of labor can writing be? Also playing into this dynamic are the unseen others—editors, spouses, agents, assistants—who handle much of the mundane behind-the-scenes business of authoring while the writers themselves appear free to lead tweed-blazered lives penning stories in their studies. The invisibility of all that writing support undercuts the levels of labor needed to produce a manuscript ready for publication.
The psychological portraits of writers popularized in media also need to be more nuanced. There is no question that being a writer is a complex occupation and how each writer embraces that complexity depends on their own resources and outlooks; Olivia Laing offers a haunting examination of that complexity in The Trip
to Echo Spring: On Writers and Drinking , and Jane Piirto has analyzed the work and words of women writers that show many suffer from depression and substance abuse. But through interviews with published authors, Catherine Wald examines how writers build resilience—how they handle the occupational necessity of rejection, the uncertainties of publication, the responses of friends and family. Writing can be tough work, but many writers have developed coping mechanisms and support networks aimed at making themselves healthy in ways that do not include substance abuse or agoraphobia.
The notion of the lone author living reclusively in her apartment (frequently brought into the sunlit world by a precocious child or teenager) also belies the social nature of writing. While writing does include concentrated time working alone, professional writing is never an individual endeavor. Perpetuating the myth of the reclusive author hides not only the roles of all the people who shape a book but also makes invisible the business side of authoring. Social media has made the author’s work of self-promotion more evident, but the author as public figure is not new. M. Thomas Inge noted that Truman Capote, who wrote at a time when critics valued reclusive writers, took advantage of 20th century media and his own conversational abilities to develop his persona as a writer who was both literary, social, and media savvy.
The belief that writing emerges, Athena-like, fully developed from the writer’s head minimizes both the labor involved and the expectation that writing is a skill that can be improved. Popular culture portrayals of authors are, by narrative necessity, centered on the action in the author’s life, and it is challenging to represent the labor that goes into writing; hours typing on a computer may not make for exciting storytelling. But the insidious invisibility of the work of writing perpetuates myths that damage both current and possible writers. The myth that writing is a magical process that only certain people can undertake fosters the view of writers as fragile beings incapable of handling the world in which they live. Because the hard work of writing is not portrayed often in popular media, young writers may not see writing as something they can do or as work that is economically valued. Some authors may embrace the myth and use it to their advantage, but they do so aware that they are playing a game with public expectations. The myth of the magical or monstrous writer is perpetuated.
Undoing the Myth: How Real People Live the Writing Life
It’s no easy task to undo the myths surrounding the writing life; after all, they are so persistent because they hold threads of truth (writing does require solitude; some writers do abuse drugs and alcohol and are depressive). Plus, to be frank, they make for good drama. But instead of mistaking these myths as glamorous, desirable, or inevitable, it’s important for aspiring authors to stave off cultural portraits that are unhelpful so they can imagine other kinds of writing lives for themselves. This is especially true in the digital age when the notion of being a writer is more available to a greater number of people. One possible move is to analyze common themes circulating about writers and then strategize ways to combat them. For example, fear of rejection is a common character trait in representations of writers, and talk of rejection is common in books about writing. In tandem with fear of rejection, however, is recognition that successful writers are resilient, and as Jane Piirto points out, they learn to take rejection and criticism as part of the life-long writing process.
Another possible shift is to move from seeing writers as mythical and magical to seeing writers, like most of us, as working stiffs. Author and creative writing instructor Kristine Kathryn Rusch argues that the primary problem with writing as a profession is that it isn’t seen or taught as a profession. It’s a pastime or a passion but not a career. To develop as an author, writers are often advised to workshop their manuscripts-in-progress, but these workshops can be detrimental. Frequently, the focus of peer workshops is on constant critique, leading authors into a trap of revising a single piece until they give up. Instead, Rusch advises, writers should see their work as part of a career where they improve through continued effort, ongoing practice, and frequent submissions, a self-forgiving and practical stance that undercuts portraits of writers as people obsessed about their personal failures and the imperfections of their work.
Part of understanding writing as a profession or career—or even an avocation that isn’t destructive—is to recognize the unglamorous day-to-day pace of writing. As author Anne Lamott points out, writing will have its moments when it is exhilarating. It will also have its moments when it is agonizing or flat dull. The key, she stresses, is to sit down and write, even if the words are slow to come and even if when they do come they aren’t very good. This is part of the writing life, and it isn’t fantastical, magical, and fearsome. It’s the job.
Further Reading
In addition to the examples above, for more popular media depictions of writers and authoring, see the television series Castle (American Broadcasting Company), William Joyce’s The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (book, short film, or app), or Alan Rudolph’s film Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle . For more about the physical and psychological conditions affecting the lives and work of writers, see Donald W. Goodwin’s Alcohol and the Writer (Andrews and McMeel), Olivia Laing’s The Trip to Echo Spring: On Writers and Drinking (Picador), and Jane Piirto’s article in Roeper Review , “Themes in the Lives of Successful Contemporary U.S. Women Creative Writers.” To read about writers and resilience, see Catherine Wald’s The Resilient Writer (Persea Books). And for more about one author’s decisions to play against the common ideas of writers, see M. Thomas Inge’s Truman Capote: Conversations (University Press of Mississippi). Writers themselves have a lot of say about the day-to-day work of authoring. For authors’ advice and views of their working lives, see Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (Anchor Books), Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s The Pursuit of Perfection and How It Harms Writers (WMG Publishing), and Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (Pocket Books).
Keywords
workshop, writing as a profession, writing as process, writing lives
Author Bio
- Teri Holbrook, a crime fiction writer turned literacy educator, is an associate professor at Georgia State University where she examines how digital technology and arts-based research affect writing—and vice versa.
- Melanie Hundley is a professor at Vanderbilt University where she studies how teachers learn to write digital and multimodal texts. She is a passionate teacher of writing and young adult literature.


6.2: Profitability, Return and Asset Turnover Ratios
Profitability:
Certainly, we are all interested in profitability. Each of the foregoing data ( without the word “margin” ) may be divided by “Total Sales” and used cross-sectionally or longitudinally. “Margin” means percentage. For example, gross profit margin = gross profits ÷ sales.
In discussing liquidity ratios, we agreed that in order to manage liquidity risk the current ratio should be at least one. We can also agree that too high a current ratio may be unhealthy. This is because current assets, especially cash, produce no return . Having inventory sitting around does no good.
A question to ask is: Why has the firm accumulated cash and other current assets rather than investing in more productive, fixed assets? There must be a balance between liquidity on the one hand, and return (see below) on the other. Too much of anything may not be good.
Even though the firm may have high profitability, it does not mean that its cash flow position is strong. One must also examine the solvency ratios, especially the TIE ratio. The company may have onerous obligations due to maturing debt and the need for replacement of long-term assets. A growing company may need a great deal of liquidity , in order to support growing sales, which growth would be reflected in growing inventory and accounts receivable. The analyst should also check the firm’s Liquidity .
Return Measures:
We will discuss two important return measures. These ratios give the analyst another look at profitability.
ROA = Return on Assets = EBIT ÷ TA
How well is a firm employing its assets? Return on Assets attempts to gauge this. While many will use net income in the numer ator, EBIT is preferable in the sense that operating profits reflect what the assets produce, whereas net income is affected by the firm’s capital structure , i.e., interest expense and particularly taxes, and othe r possible items not directly associated with the firm’s actual business or “operations.”
ROA may be a good tool to judge management’s operating performance and its “asset utilization , ” or how efficiently it exploits the firm’s assets. Why may two, otherwise identical companies, have different ROAs? Does one company manage better? Does it motivate its employees better? Are they better trained? Do they work harder or longer hours? Does it employ better technology?
ROE = Return on Equity = NI ÷ Equity
Common shareholders are most interested in ROE because that is what they get for their equity investment. They understand that for each dollar of equity invested, they will have a claim on the company’s net income, i.e., its dividends and (additions to) retained earnings.
What kind of return is the firm able to produce on its equity? Equity is the result of , no t just the company’s past operating performance (EBIT) and its associated accumulation of retained earnings, but management’s capital structure decision s (i.e., the debt/equity ratio) when it had to raise capital in the past. T he more debt there is , the less equity ; the more interest expense , the less net income. EBIT also affects Net Income!
While ROA reflects the firm’s effectiveness in producing operating profits, or EBIT, the effective use of leverage, i.e., debt, can increase the firm’s ROE above its ROA. This is not guaranteed; borrowing does not en sure in all instances that ROE > ROA. In addition , “ leverage ,” i.e., the use of debt ( OPM ), increases the firm’s financial , or solvency, risk. We shall get a glimpse of this when we – soon – look into the DuPont model on the very next page. ROA and Leverage (i.e., the extent to which a firm utilizes debt) are inter-related. Stay tuned.
ROE may be a better tool (t h an ROA) for assessing a firm’s (equity) investment merits, because shareholders are most interested in net income as that will either be distribute d to them as dividends and/or added to retained earnings, which are “owned” by shareholders.
Once again, w hat is management providing the shareholders for their equity investment ? S hareholders are interested in earnings, as it is earnings, which are either paid out as dividends or retained, and that is what benefit s the shareholders . Remember: retained earn i ngs belong to the common shareholders.
Asset Turnover:
S ÷ Fixed Assets and S ÷ TA
Here “turnover” is not a physical concept as it was when we spoke about Inventory Turnover. How often do the firm’s F ixed A ssets ( i.e., Property, Plant, and Equipment) , or total assets, “ turn over ” relative to sales? In other words, how much Sales does a company produce from its fixed or total assets? If two identical firms differ in only this respect, what might the analyst conclude? Does one firm maximize price and revenues? Does one firm manage production and exploit its asse t s more efficiently , more productively ? What do turnover ratios say about pricing, asset utilization , and management performance?
An analyst may prefer using total assets rather than just fixed assets if the company being analyzed is a service company with fewer fixed assets to speak of in comparison with a heavy manufacturing firm . An analyst may use Asset Turnover rather than Return Ratios in the case where EBIT = 0.
If you take shortcuts, you get cut short.
-Gary Busey, actor


10.22: Hypothesis Test for a Population Mean (1 of 5)
Learning Objectives
- Recognize when to use a hypothesis test or a confidence interval to draw a conclusion about a population mean.
- Under appropriate conditions, conduct a hypothesis test about a population mean. State a conclusion in context.
Introduction
In Inference for Means , our focus is on inference when the variable is quantitative, so the parameters and statistics are means. In “Estimating a Population Mean,” we learned how to use a sample mean to calculate a confidence interval. The confidence interval estimates a population mean. In “Hypothesis Test for a Population Mean,” we learn to use a sample mean to test a hypothesis about a population mean.
We did hypothesis tests in earlier modules. In Inference for One Proportion , each claim involved a single population proportion. In Inference for Two Proportions , the claim was a statement about a treatment effect or a difference in population proportions. In “Hypothesis Test for a Population Mean,” the claims are statements about a population mean. But we will see that the steps and the logic of the hypothesis test are the same. Before we get into the details, let’s practice identifying research questions and studies that involve a population mean.
Example
Cell Phone Data
Cell phones and cell phone plans can be very expensive, so consumers must think carefully when choosing a cell phone and service. This decision is as much about choosing the right cellular company as it is about choosing the right phone. Many people use the data/Internet capabilities of a phone as much as, if not more than, they use voice capability. The data service of a cell company is therefore an important factor in this decision. In the following example, a student named Melanie from Los Angeles applies what she learned in her statistics class to help her make a decision about buying a data plan for her smartphone.
Melanie read an advertisement from the Cell Phone Giants (CPG, for short, and yes, we’re using a fictitious company name) that she thinks is too good to be true. The CPG ad states that customers in Los Angeles get average data download speeds of 4 Mbps. With this speed, the ad claims, it takes, on average, only 12 seconds to download a typical 3-minute song from iTunes.
Only 12 seconds on average to download a 3-minute song from iTunes! Melanie has her doubts about this claim, so she gathers data to test it. She asks a friend who uses the CPG plan to download a song, and it takes 13 seconds to download a 3-minute song using the CPG network. Melanie decides to gather more evidence. She uses her friend’s phone and times the download of the same 3-minute song from various locations in Los Angeles. She gets a mean download time of 13.5 seconds for her sample of downloads.
What can Melanie conclude? Her sample has a mean download time that is greater than 12 seconds. Isn’t this evidence that the CPG claim is wrong? Why is a hypothesis test necessary? Isn’t the conclusion clear?
Let’s review the reason Melanie needs to do a hypothesis test before she can reach a conclusion.
Why should Melanie do a hypothesis test?
Melanie’s data (with a mean of 13.5 seconds) suggest that the average download time overall is greater than the 12 seconds claimed by the manufacturer. But wait. We know that samples will vary. If the CPG claim is correct, we don’t expect all samples to have a mean download time exactly equal to 12 seconds. There will be variability in the sample means. But if the overall average download time is 12 seconds, how much variability in sample means do we expect to see? We need to determine if the difference Melanie observed can be explained by chance.
We have to judge Melanie’s data against random samples that come from a population with a mean of 12. For this reason, we must do a simulation or use a mathematical model to examine the sampling distribution of sample means. Based on the sampling distribution, we ask, Is it likely that the samples will have mean download times that are greater than 13.5 seconds if the overall mean is 12 seconds? This probability (the P-value) determines whether Melanie’s data provides convincing evidence against the CPG claim.
Now let’s do the hypothesis test.
Step 1: Determine the hypotheses.
As always, hypotheses come from the research question. The null hypothesis is a hypothesis that the population mean equals a specific value. The alternative hypothesis reflects our claim. The alternative hypothesis says the population mean is “greater than” or “less than” or “not equal to” the value we assume is true in the null hypothesis.
Melanie’s hypotheses:
- H 0 : It takes 12 seconds on average to download Melanie’s song from iTunes with the CPG network in Los Angeles.
- H a : It takes more than 12 seconds on average to download Melanie’s song from iTunes using the CPG network in Los Angeles.
We can write the hypotheses in terms of µ. When we do so, we should always define µ. Here μ = the average number of seconds it takes to download Melanie’s song on the CPG network in Los Angeles.
- H 0 : μ = 12
- H a : μ > 12
Step 2: Collect the data.
To conduct a hypothesis test, Melanie knows she has to use a t-model of the sampling distribution. She thinks ahead to the conditions required, which helps her collect a useful sample.
Recall the conditions for use of a t-model.
- There is no reason to think the download times are normally distributed (they might be, but this isn’t something Melanie could know for sure). So the sample has to be large (more than 30).
- The sample has to be random. Melanie decides to use one phone but randomly selects days, times, and locations in Los Angeles.
Melanie collects a random sample of 45 downloads by using her friend’s phone to download her song from iTunes according to the randomly selected days, times, and locations.
Melanie’s sample of size 45 downloads has an average download time of 13.5 seconds. The standard deviation for the sample is 3.2 seconds. Now Melanie needs to determine how unlikely this data is if CPG’s claim is actually true.
Step 3: Assess the evidence.
Assuming the average download time for Melanie’s song is really 12 seconds, what is the probability that 45 random downloads of this song will have a mean of 13.5 seconds or more?
This is a question about sampling variability. Melanie must determine the standard error. She knows the standard error of random sample means is . Since she has no way of knowing the population standard deviation, σ, Melanie uses the sample standard deviation, s = 3.2, as an approximation. Therefore, Melanie approximates the standard error of all sample means ( n = 45) to be
Now she can assess how far away her sample is from the claimed mean in terms of standard errors. That is, she can compute the t-score of her sample mean.
The sample mean for Melanie’s random sample is approximately 3.14 standard errors above the overall mean of 12. We know from previous experience that a sample mean this far above µ is very unlikely. With a t-score this large, the P-value is very small. We use a simulation of the t-model for 44 degrees of freedom to verify this.
We want the probability that the sample mean is greater than 13.5. This corresponds to the probability that T is greater than 3.14. The P-value is 0.0015.
Step 4: State a conclusion.
Here the logic is the same as for other hypothesis tests. We use the P-value to make a decision. The P-value helps us determine if the difference we see between the data and the hypothesized value of µ is statistically significant or due to chance. One of two outcomes can occur:
- One possibility is that results similar to the actual sample are extremely unlikely. This means the data does not fit with results from random samples selected from the population described by the null hypothesis. In this case, it is unlikely that the data came from this population. The probability as measured by the P-value is small, so we view this as strong evidence against the null hypothesis. We reject the null hypothesis in favor of the alternative hypothesis.
- The other possibility is that results similar to the actual sample are fairly likely (not unusual). This means the data fits with typical results from random samples selected from the population described by the null hypothesis. The probability as measured by the P-value is large. In this case, we do not have evidence against the null hypothesis, so we cannot reject it in favor of the alternative hypothesis.
Melanie’s data is very unlikely if µ = 12. The probability is essentially zero (P-value = 0.0015). This means we will rarely see sample means greater than 13.5 if µ = 12. So we reject the null and accept the alternative hypothesis. In other words, this sample provides strong evidence that CPG has overstated the speed of its data download capability.
The following activities give you an opportunity to practice parts of the hypothesis testing process for a population mean. Later you will have the opportunity to practice the hypothesis test from start to finish.
Try It
For the following scenarios, give the null and alternative hypotheses and state in words what µ represents in your hypotheses. A good definition of µ describes both the variable and the population.
https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...sessments/3764
Comment
In the previous example, Melanie did not state a significance level for her test. If she had, the logic is the same as we used for hypothesis tests in Modules 8 and 9. To come to a conclusion about H 0 , we compare the P-value to the significance level α.
- If P ≤ α, we reject H 0 . We conclude there is significant evidence in favor of H a .
- If P > α, we fail to reject H 0 . We conclude the sample does not provide significant evidence in favor of H a .
Contributors and Attributions
- Concepts in Statistics. Provided by : Open Learning Initiative. Located at : http://oli.cmu.edu . License : CC BY: Attribution


14.1: The Importance of a Healthy Planet
What is Climate Change?
Climate change is the term used to describe the Earth’s changing climate. Researchers are able to estimate climate changes that occurred in the last 650,000 years by measuring the CO2 in ice cores. The amount of CO2 in our atmosphere is directly related to temperature; the more CO2 the higher the temperature, the lower the CO2 the lower the temperature.
The term Ice Age has been used to describe seven cyclical periods in the last 650,000 years when the planet cooled dramatically. The cyclical cooling and warming of the past was prior to human civilization and was attributed to slight changes of the Earth’s rotation that changed the amount of solar radiation the planet received.
Using the term climate change today, in modern times, reflects the change that is occurring most likely due to the human population. Prior to 1950, the atmospheric level of CO2 had never reached 300 parts per million and the current level today is about 400 parts per million. During the Ice Ages the level of CO2 was about 180 parts per million
Global Warming
The sun provides solar radiation to our planet. When the Sun’s solar rays hit our planet the solar radiation turns to heat. CO2 is one of several gases in our atmosphere that block heat from escaping the planet. When there is more CO2 there is more heat trapped. The trapping of heat has been termed Global Warming .
To help you understand how the sun’s rays turn to heat and then get trapped in by greenhouse gases, just imagine stepping into a greenhouse. The temperature inside and outside of a greenhouse can be very different. Outside of a greenhouse you can feel the heat from the sun’s rays, but the heat can escape to the atmosphere. Inside the greenhouse, the sun’s rays are turned to heat and the heat is trapped by the greenhouse. The way the greenhouse traps heat is similar to how the greenhouses gases, such as CO2 trap heat and increase the temperature of the planet.
Evidence of Rapid Climate Change:
-
Global temperature rise
- The planet’s temperature has risen about 2 degrees fahrenheit since the late 19th century. 16 of the 17 warmest years ever recorded have occurred since 2001.
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Warming oceans
- Oceans absorb the heat and thus our oceans have increased in temperature by about .302 degree fahrenheit since 1969.
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Shrinking ice sheets
- Both Greenland and the Antarctica are losing Ice. Greenland lost 36-60 cubic miles of ice per year from 2002-2006 and Antarctica lost about 36 cubic miles of ice from 2002-2005.
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Glacial retreat
- Glaciers are disappearing around the world.
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Decreased snow cover
- Snow cover has decreased in the northern hemisphere over the past 50 years and snow is melting earlier.
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Sea level rise
- Sea level has risen about 8 inches in the last 100 years. The last 20 years sea level has risen double the amount from the last century.
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Declining arctic sea ice
- Arctic sea ice has decreased in size and depth.
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Extreme events
- Extreme weather events have risen.
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Ocean acidification
- Ocean waters have become more acidic due to more CO2
Contributors and Attributions
Creative Commons:
- Image of recycle symbol around planet.. Authored by: Scott Maxwell, Lumaxart. Provided by: Lumaxart. Located at: http://www.lumaxart.com/ License: CC BY: Attribution
Public Domain Content
- Image of Global Warming. Authored by NASA. Provided by Nasa. Located at: https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/ License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright
- Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Authored by NASA. Provided by Nasa. Located at: https://climate.nasa.gov/ License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright


23.4: Sample Documentation
Sample Documentation of Expected Findings
Initiated IV infusion of normal saline at 125 mL/hr using existing 22 gauge IV catheter located in the right hand. The IV site is free from pain, coolness, redness, or swelling.
Sample Documentation of Unexpected Findings
Attempted to initiate IV infusion in right hand using existing 22 gauge IV catheter. The IV site was free from pain, redness, or signs of infiltration. It infused freely with the normal saline flush. IV fluids were connected to run the normal saline infusion at 200 mL/hr. The infusion was started, but immediate leaking around the infusion site was noted. Swelling was noted superior to the infusion site and the fluids were immediately stopped.