1.3.2: Sociological Perspectives on Social Problems
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Learning Objectives
- Define the sociological imagination.
- Explain what is meant by the blaming-the-victim belief.
- Summarize the most important beliefs and assumptions of functionalism and conflict theory.
- Summarize the most important beliefs and assumptions of symbolic interactionism and exchange theory.
The sociological understanding of social problems rests heavily on the concept of the sociological imagination . We discuss this concept in some detail before turning to various theoretical perspectives that provide a further context for understanding social problems.
The Sociological Imagination
Many individuals experience one or more social problems personally. For example, many people are poor and unemployed, many are in poor health, and many have family problems, drink too much alcohol, or commit crime. When we hear about these individuals, it is easy to think that their problems are theirs alone, and that they and other individuals with the same problems are entirely to blame for their difficulties.
Sociology takes a different approach, as it stresses that individual problems are often rooted in problems stemming from aspects of society itself. This key insight informed C. Wright Mills’s (1959) (Mills, 1959) classic distinction between personal troubles and public issues. Personal troubles refer to a problem affecting individuals that the affected individual, as well as other members of society, typically blame on the individual’s own personal and moral failings. Examples include such different problems as eating disorders, divorce, and unemployment. Public issues , whose source lies in the social structure and culture of a society, refer to social problems affecting many individuals. Problems in society thus help account for problems that individuals experience. Mills felt that many problems ordinarily considered private troubles are best understood as public issues, and he coined the term sociological imagination to refer to the ability to appreciate the structural basis for individual problems.
To illustrate Mills’s viewpoint, let’s use our sociological imaginations to understand some contemporary social problems. We will start with unemployment, which Mills himself discussed. If only a few people were unemployed, Mills wrote, we could reasonably explain their unemployment by saying they were lazy, lacked good work habits, and so forth. If so, their unemployment would be their own personal trouble. But when millions of people are out of work, unemployment is best understood as a public issue because, as Mills (Mills, 1959) put it, “the very structure of opportunities has collapsed. Both the correct statement of the problem and the range of possible solutions require us to consider the economic and political institutions of the society, and not merely the personal situation and character of a scatter of individuals.”
The high US unemployment rate stemming from the severe economic downturn that began in 2008 provides a telling example of the point Mills was making. Millions of people lost their jobs through no fault of their own. While some individuals are undoubtedly unemployed because they are lazy or lack good work habits, a more structural explanation focusing on lack of opportunity is needed to explain why so many people were out of work. If so, unemployment is best understood as a public issue rather than a personal trouble.
Another social problem is eating disorders. We usually consider a person’s eating disorder to be a personal trouble that stems from a lack of control, low self-esteem, or another personal problem. This explanation may be OK as far as it goes, but it does not help us understand why so many people have the personal problems that lead to eating disorders. Perhaps more important, this belief also neglects the larger social and cultural forces that help explain such disorders. For example, most Americans with eating disorders are women, not men. This gender difference forces us to ask what it is about being a woman in American society that makes eating disorders so much more common. To begin to answer this question, we need to look to the standard of beauty for women that emphasizes a slender body (Boyd, et. al., 2011). If this cultural standard did not exist, far fewer American women would suffer from eating disorders than do now. Because it does exist, even if every girl and woman with an eating disorder were cured, others would take their places unless we could somehow change this standard. Viewed in this way, eating disorders are best understood as a public issue, not just as a personal trouble.
Picking up on Mills’s insights, William Ryan (1976) (Ryan, 1976) pointed out that Americans typically think that social problems such as poverty and unemployment stem from personal failings of the people experiencing these problems, not from structural problems in the larger society. Using Mills’s terms, Americans tend to think of social problems as personal troubles rather than public issues. As Ryan put it, they tend to believe in blaming the victim rather than blaming the system.
To help us understand a blaming-the-victim ideology, let’s consider why poor children in urban areas often learn very little in their schools. According to Ryan, a blaming-the-victim approach would say the children’s parents do not care about their learning, fail to teach them good study habits, and do not encourage them to take school seriously. This type of explanation, he wrote, may apply to some parents, but it ignores a much more important reason: the sad shape of America’s urban schools, which, he said, are overcrowded, decrepit structures housing old textbooks and out-of-date equipment. To improve the schooling of children in urban areas, he wrote, we must improve the schools themselves and not just try to “improve” the parents.
As this example suggests, a blaming-the-victim approach points to solutions to social problems such as poverty and illiteracy that are very different from those suggested by a more structural approach that blames the system. If we blame the victim, we would spend our limited dollars to address the personal failings of individuals who suffer from poverty, illiteracy, poor health, eating disorders, and other difficulties. If instead we blame the system, we would focus our attention on the various social conditions (decrepit schools, cultural standards of female beauty, and the like) that account for these difficulties. A sociological understanding suggests that the latter approach is ultimately needed to help us deal successfully with the social problems facing us today.
Theoretical Perspectives
Three theoretical perspectives guide sociological thinking on social problems: functionalist theory, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionist theory. These perspectives look at the same social problems, but they do so in different ways. Their views taken together offer a fuller understanding of social problems than any of the views can offer alone. Table 1.1 “Theory Snapshot” summarizes the three perspectives.
| Theoretical perspective | Major assumptions | Views of social problems |
|---|---|---|
| Functionalism | Social stability is necessary for a strong society, and adequate socialization and social integration are necessary for social stability. Society’s social institutions perform important functions to help ensure social stability. Slow social change is desirable, but rapid social change threatens social order. | Social problems weaken a society’s stability but do not reflect fundamental faults in how the society is structured. Solutions to social problems should take the form of gradual social reform rather than sudden and far-reaching change. Despite their negative effects, social problems often also serve important functions for society. |
| Conflict theory | Society is characterized by pervasive inequality based on social class, race, gender, and other factors. Far-reaching social change is needed to reduce or eliminate social inequality and to create an egalitarian society. | Social problems arise from fundamental faults in the structure of a society and both reflect and reinforce inequalities based on social class, race, gender, and other dimensions. Successful solutions to social problems must involve far-reaching change in the structure of society. |
| Symbolic interactionism | People construct their roles as they interact; they do not merely learn the roles that society has set out for them. As this interaction occurs, individuals negotiate their definitions of the situations in which they find themselves and socially construct the reality of these situations. In so doing, they rely heavily on symbols such as words and gestures to reach a shared understanding of their interaction. | Social problems arise from the interaction of individuals. People who engage in socially problematic behaviors often learn these behaviors from other people. Individuals also learn their perceptions of social problems from other people. |
Functionalism
Functionalism, also known as the functionalist theory or perspective, arose out of two great revolutions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The first was the French Revolution of 1789, whose intense violence and bloody terror shook Europe to its core. The aristocracy throughout Europe feared that revolution would spread to their own lands, and intellectuals feared that social order was crumbling.
The Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century reinforced these concerns. Starting first in Europe and then in the United States, the Industrial Revolution led to many changes, including the rise and growth of cities as people left their farms to live near factories. As the cities grew, people lived in increasingly poor, crowded, and decrepit conditions, and crime was rampant. Here was additional evidence, if European intellectuals needed it, of the breakdown of social order.
In response, the intellectuals began to write that a strong society, as exemplified by strong social bonds and rules and effective socialization, was needed to prevent social order from disintegrating. Without a strong society and effective socialization, they warned, social order breaks down, and violence and other signs of social disorder result.
This general framework reached fruition in the writings of Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), a French scholar largely responsible for the sociological perspective, as we now know it. Adopting the conservative intellectuals’ view of the need for a strong society, Durkheim felt that human beings have desires that result in chaos unless society limits them (Durkheim, 1952). It does so, he wrote, through two related social mechanisms: socialization and social integration. Socialization helps us learn society’s rules and the need to cooperate, as people end up generally agreeing on important norms and values, while social integration, or our ties to other people and to social institutions such as religion and the family, helps socialize us and integrate us into society and reinforce our respect for its rules.
Today’s functionalist perspective arises out of Durkheim’s work and that of other conservative intellectuals of the nineteenth century. It uses the human body as a model for understanding society. In the human body, our various organs and other body parts serve important functions for the ongoing health and stability of our body. Our eyes help us see, our ears help us hear, our heart circulates our blood, and so forth. Just as we can understand the body by describing and understanding the functions that its parts serve for its health and stability, so can we understand society by describing and understanding the functions that its parts—or, more accurately, its social institutions—serve for the ongoing health and stability of society. Thus functionalism emphasizes the importance of social institutions such as the family, religion, and education for producing a stable society.
Émile Durkheim was a founder of sociology and is largely credited with developing the functionalist perspective. (Marxists.org – public domain.)
Similar to the view of the conservative intellectuals from which it grew, functionalism is skeptical of rapid social change and other major social upheaval. The analogy to the human body helps us understand this skepticism. In our bodies, any sudden, rapid change is a sign of danger to our health. If we break a bone in one of our legs, we have trouble walking; if we lose sight in both our eyes, we can no longer see. Slow changes, such as the growth of our hair and our nails, are fine and even normal, but sudden changes like those just described are obviously troublesome. By analogy, sudden and rapid changes in society and its social institutions are troublesome according to the functionalist perspective. If the human body evolved to its present form and functions because these made sense from an evolutionary perspective, so did society evolve to its present form and functions because these made sense. Any sudden change in society thus threatens its stability and future.
As these comments might suggest, functionalism views social problems as arising from society’s natural evolution. When a social problem does occur, it might threaten a society’s stability, but it does not mean that fundamental flaws in the society exist. Accordingly, gradual social reform should be all that is needed to address the social problem.
Functionalism even suggests that social problems must be functional in some ways for society, because otherwise these problems would not continue. This is certainly a controversial suggestion, but it is true that many social problems do serve important functions for our society. For example, crime is a major social problem, but it is also good for the economy because it creates hundreds of thousands of jobs in law enforcement, courts and corrections, home security, and other sectors of the economy whose major role is to deal with crime. If crime disappeared, many people would be out of work! Similarly, poverty is also a major social problem, but one function that poverty serves is that poor people do jobs that otherwise might not get done because other people would not want to do them (Gans, 1972). Like crime, poverty also provides employment for people across the nation, such as those who work in social service agencies that help poor people.
Conflict Theory
In many ways, conflict theory is the opposite of functionalism but ironically also grew out of the Industrial Revolution, thanks largely to Karl Marx (1818–1883) and his collaborator, Friedrich Engels (1820–1895). Whereas conservative intellectuals feared the mass violence resulting from industrialization, Marx and Engels deplored the conditions they felt were responsible for the mass violence and the capitalist society they felt was responsible for these conditions. Instead of fearing the breakdown of social order that mass violence represented, they felt that revolutionary violence was needed to eliminate capitalism and the poverty and misery they saw as its inevitable results (Marx, 1906; Marx & Engels, 1962).
According to Marx and Engels, every society is divided into two classes based on the ownership of the means of production (tools, factories, and the like). In a capitalist society, the bourgeoisie , or ruling class, owns the means of production, while the proletariat , or working class, does not own the means of production and instead is oppressed and exploited by the bourgeoisie. This difference creates an automatic conflict of interests between the two groups. Simply put, the bourgeoisie is interested in maintaining its position at the top of society, while the proletariat’s interest lies in rising up from the bottom and overthrowing the bourgeoisie to create an egalitarian society.
In a capitalist society, Marx and Engels wrote, revolution is inevitable because of structural contradictions arising from the very nature of capitalism. Because profit is the main goal of capitalism, the bourgeoisie’s interest lies in maximizing profit. To do so, capitalists try to keep wages as low as possible and to spend as little money as possible on working conditions. This central fact of capitalism, said Marx and Engels, eventually prompts the rise of class consciousness, or an awareness of the reasons for their oppression, among workers. Their class consciousness in turn leads them to revolt against the bourgeoisie to eliminate the oppression and exploitation they suffer.
Marx and Engels’ view of conflict arising from unequal positions held by members of society lies at the heart of today’s conflict theory. This theory emphasizes that different groups in society have different interests stemming from their different social positions. These different interests in turn lead to different views on important social issues. Some versions of the theory root conflict in divisions based on race and ethnicity, gender, and other such differences, while other versions follow Marx and Engels in seeing conflict arising out of different positions in the economic structure. In general, however, conflict theory emphasizes that the various parts of society contribute to ongoing inequality, whereas functionalist theory, as we have seen, stresses that they contribute to the ongoing stability of society. Thus while functionalist theory emphasizes the benefits of the various parts of society for ongoing social stability, conflict theory favors social change to reduce inequality.
Feminist theory has developed in sociology and other disciplines since the 1970s and for our purposes will be considered a specific application of conflict theory. In this case, the conflict concerns gender inequality rather than the class inequality emphasized by Marx and Engels.  Liberal feminists view gender inequality as arising out of gender differences in socialization, while Marxist feminists say that this inequality is a result of the rise of capitalism, which made women dependent on men for economic support. On the other hand, radical feminists view gender inequality as present in all societies, not just capitalist ones. Several chapters in this book emphasize the perspectives of feminist sociologists and other social scientists.
Conflict theory in its various forms views social problems as arising from society’s inherent inequality. Depending on which version of conflict theory is being considered, the inequality contributing to social problems is based on social class, race and ethnicity, gender, or some other dimension of society’s hierarchy. Because any of these inequalities represents a fundamental flaw in society, conflict theory assumes that fundamental social change is needed to address society’s many social problems.
Symbolic Interactionism
Symbolic interactionism focuses on the interaction of individuals and on how they interpret their interaction. Its roots lie in the work of early 1900s American sociologists, social psychologists, and philosophers who were interested in human consciousness and action. Herbert Blumer (1969) (Blumer, 1969), a sociologist at the University of Chicago, built on their writings to develop symbolic interactionism, a term he coined. Drawing on Blumer’s work, symbolic interactionists feel that people do not merely learn the roles that society has set out for them; instead they construct these roles as they interact. As they interact, they negotiate their definitions of the situations in which they find themselves and socially construct the reality of these situations. In doing so, they rely heavily on symbols such as words and gestures to reach a shared understanding of their interaction.
An example is the familiar symbol of shaking hands. In the United States and many other societies, shaking hands is a symbol of greeting and friendship.  To reinforce this symbol’s importance for understanding a bit of interaction, consider a situation where someone refuses to shake hands. This action is usually intended as a sign of dislike or as an insult, and the other person interprets it as such. Their understanding of the situation and subsequent interaction will be very different from those arising from the more typical shaking of hands. As the term symbolic interactionism implies, their understanding of this encounter arises from what they do when they interact and from their use and interpretation of the various symbols included in their interaction. According to symbolic interactionists, social order is possible because people learn what various symbols (such as shaking hands) mean and apply these meanings to different kinds of situations. If you visited a society where sticking your right hand out to greet someone was interpreted as a threatening gesture, you would quickly learn the value of common understandings of symbols.
Symbolic interactionism views social problems as arising from the interaction of individuals. This interaction matters in two important respects. First, socially problematic behaviors such as crime and drug use are often learned from our interaction with people who engage in these behaviors; we adopt their attitudes that justify committing these behaviors, and we learn any special techniques that might be needed to commit these behaviors. Second, we also learn our perceptions of a social problem from our interaction with other people, whose perceptions and beliefs influence our own perceptions and beliefs.
Because symbolic interactionism emphasizes the perception of social problems, it is closely aligned with the social constructionist view discussed earlier. Both perspectives emphasize the subjective nature of social problems. By doing so, they remind us that perceptions often matter at least as much as objective reality in determining whether a given condition or behavior rises to the level of a social problem and in the types of possible solutions that various parties might favor for a particular social problem.
Applying the Three Perspectives
To help you further understand the different views of these three theoretical perspectives, let’s see what they would probably say about armed robbery , a very serious form of crime, while recognizing that the three perspectives together provide a more comprehensive understanding of armed robbery than any one perspective provides by itself.
A functionalist approach might suggest that armed robbery actually serves positive functions for society, such as the job-creating function mentioned earlier for crime in general. It would still think that efforts should be made to reduce armed robbery, but it would also assume that far-reaching changes in our society would be neither wise nor necessary as part of the effort to reduce crime.
Conflict theory would take a very different approach to understanding armed robbery. It might note that most street criminals are poor and thus emphasize that armed robbery is the result of the despair and frustration of living in poverty and facing a lack of jobs and other opportunities for economic and social success. The roots of street crime, from the perspective of conflict theory, thus lie in society at least as much as they lie in the individuals committing such crime. To reduce armed robbery and other street crime, conflict theory would advocate far-reaching changes in the economic structure of society.
For its part, symbolic interactionism would focus on how armed robbers make such decisions as when and where to rob someone and on how their interactions with other criminals reinforce their own criminal tendencies. It would also investigate how victims of armed robbery behave when confronted by a robber. To reduce armed robbery, it would advocate programs that reduce the opportunities for interaction among potential criminal offenders, for example, after-school programs that keep at-risk youths busy in “conventional” activities so that they have less time to spend with youths who might help them get into trouble.
Key Takeaways
- According to C. Wright Mills, the sociological imagination involves the ability to recognize that private troubles are rooted in public issues and structural problems.
- Functionalism emphasizes the importance of social institutions for social stability and implies that far-reaching social change will be socially harmful.
- Conflict theory emphasizes social inequality and suggests that far-reaching social change is needed to achieve a just society.
- Symbolic interactionism emphasizes the social meanings and understandings that individuals derive from their social interaction.
For Your Review
- Select an example of a “private trouble” and explain how and why it may reflect a structural problem in society.
- At this point in your study of social problems, which one of the three sociological theoretical perspectives sounds most appealing to you? Why?


9.5: Cartesian Product
the set of all possible ordered pairs of elements from two given sets \(A\) and \(B\text{,}\) where the first element in a pair is from \(A\) and the second is from \(B\)
the Cartesian product of \(A\) and \(B\text{:}\) \(A \times B = \{(a,b) \vert a\in A,\; b\in B\} \)
For “small” sets, we can list the elements of the Cartesian product by listing all ways of combining an element from the first with an element from the second.
Suppose \(A = \{ 1, 2 \}\) and \(B = \{ a, b, c \}\text{.}\) Then
\begin{equation*} A \times B = \{ (1,a), (1,b), (1,c), (2,a), (2,b), (2,c) \} \text{.} \end{equation*}
Let \(\mathbb{N}^+\) represent the positive natural numbers: \(\mathbb{N}^+ = \mathbb{N} \setminus \{0\}\text{.}\) Then we can describe the Cartesian product \(\mathbb{Z} \times \mathbb{N}^+\) as
\begin{equation*} \mathbb{Z} \times \mathbb{N}^+ = \{(m,n) \vert m,n \in \mathbb{Z}, \; n>0 \} \subseteq \mathbb{Z} \times \mathbb{Z} \text{.} \end{equation*}
Consider the subset
\begin{equation*} A = \{(m,n) \in \mathbb{Z} \times \mathbb{N}^+ \vert n \text{ has no divisors in common with } \vert m \vert\} \subseteq \mathbb{Z} \times \mathbb{N}^+\text{.} \end{equation*}
Does \(A\) resemble some more familiar set …?
Extend.
Define \(A \times B \times C = \{(a,b,c) \vert a \in A\text{, } b\in B\text{, } c\in C \}\text{.}\)
Suppose \(A = \{ 1, 2 \}\text{,}\) \(B = \{ a, b, c \}\text{,}\) \(C = \{ \alpha, \beta \}\text{.}\) Then,
\begin{align*} A \times B \times C = \{ \;\; & (1,a,\alpha), \, (1,a,\beta), \, (1,b,\alpha), \, (1,b,\beta), \, (1,c,\alpha), \, (1,c,\beta), \,\\ & (2,a,\alpha), \, (2,a,\beta), \, (2,b,\alpha), \, (2,b,\beta), \, (2,c,\alpha), \, (2,c,\beta) \;\; \} \end{align*}
Remark \(\PageIndex{1}\)
Technically, there is a difference between the elements of each of the sets
\begin{align*} (A \times B) \times C & = \{((a,b),c) \vert a \in A\text{, } b\in B\text{, } c\in C \} \text{,} \\ A \times (B \times C) & = \{(a,(b,c)) \vert a \in A\text{, } b\in B\text{, } c\in C \} \text{,} \\ A \times B \times C & = \{(a,b,c) \vert a \in A\text{, } b\in B\text{, } c\in C \} \text{,} \end{align*}
but it is rare that anyone actually observes this technicality. Usually, we consider these three sets to be the same set.
We use special notation for Cartesian products of a set with itself.
notation to mean \(A \times A\)
notation to mean \(A \times A \times A\)
notation to mean \(A \times A \times \ldots \times A\) involving \(n\) “factors” of \(A\)
And so on.
You have probably already encountered the notation
\begin{align*} \mathbb{R}^2 & = \{(x,y) \vert x,y \in \mathbb{R}\} \text{,}\\ \mathbb{R}^3 & = \{(x,y,z) \vert x,y,z \in \mathbb{R}\} \text{,}\\ & \vdots \\ \mathbb{R}^n & = \{(x_1,x_2,\ldots ,x_n) \vert x_j \in \mathbb{R}\} \text{,}\\ & \vdots \end{align*}
used to represent \(2\)-, \(3\)-, and higher-dimensional (real) vector spaces.


9.7: Digital Suppression of Social Movements (in the US)
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9.7.1: Mechanisms of Social Movement Suppression
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The US has a long history of interference, including on its own soil in the form of suppressing the efforts of social movements and, in particular, liberatory and leftist social movements. Labor organizing, independence, civil rights, and environmental movements have all been subject to opposition by the US government, often at the behest of or in cooperation with large corporations.
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9.7.2: Digital Threats to Social Movements
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Social movements challenging powerful individuals, organizations, and social structures face a broad range of surveillance risks. Specific threats vary widely in technical sophistication, likelihood, and potential for harm. Threat modeling is a process whereby an organization or individual considers their range of adversaries, estimates the likelihood of their various data and devices falling victim to attack, and finally considers the damage done if attacks were to succeed.
Thumbnail: Protest (Unsplash License;
Nathan Dumlao
via
Unsplash
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7: Analytic Geometry
In this chapter, we will investigate the two-dimensional figures that are formed when a right circular cone is intersected by a plane. We will begin by studying each of three figures created in this manner. We will develop defining equations for each figure and then learn how to use these equations to solve a variety of problems. Conic sections are formed when a plane intersects two right circular cones aligned tip to tip and extending infinitely far in opposite directions, which we also call a cone. The way in which we slice the cone will determine the type of conic section formed at the intersection. A circle is formed by slicing a cone with a plane perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the cone. An ellipse is formed by slicing a single cone with a slanted plane not perpendicular to the axis of symmetry.
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- 7.1: Prelude to Analytic Geometry
- In this chapter, we will investigate the two-dimensional figures that are formed when a right circular cone is intersected by a plane. We will begin by studying each of three figures created in this manner. We will develop defining equations for each figure and then learn how to use these equations to solve a variety of problems.
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- 7.3: The Ellipse
- The key features of the ellipse are its center, vertices, co-vertices, foci, and lengths and positions of the major and minor axes. Just as with other equations, we can identify all of these features just by looking at the standard form of the equation. There are four variations of the standard form of the ellipse. These variations are categorized first by the location of the center (the origin or not the origin), and then by the position (horizontal or vertical). Each is presented here.
Thumbnail: Conic sections can also be described by a set of points in the coordinate plane. This section focuses on the four variations of the standard form of the equation for the ellipse. An ellipse is the set of all points (x,y)(x,y) in a plane such that the sum of their distances from two fixed points is a constant. Each fixed point is called a focus(plural: foci).
Contributors
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Jay Abramson (Arizona State University) with contributing authors. Textbook content produced by OpenStax College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 license. Download for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/precalculus .


4.3: Lab Activities
A list of words is provided below that you are expected to identify, learn, and label on the models provided. Note that not all models will have some of the organs/structures, so be sure to find them on an alternate model. You must use all the words provided. Using the colored tape provided, write the number that corresponds to the organ/structure and place them on your model. When complete, notify your TA so they may check your work.
For each additional station, directions will be provided for the activity.
Station One: Brain
Label the models of this station with the number that corresponds to the appropriate structure of the peripheral nervous system using the colored tape. When you are finished, ask your TA to check your labeling. Before leaving the station, remove all the labels you have placed on the model.
Note: For the following structures, be able to differentiate between left and right halves when applicable.
Cerebrum
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#1 cerebral cortex |
#3 temporal lobes |
#5 occipital lobe |
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#2 frontal lobe |
#4 parietal lobes |
#6 insula |
Diencephalon
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#7 thalamus |
#9 mammillary bodies |
#11 pineal glands |
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#8 hypothalamus |
#10 epithalamus |
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Brainstem
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#12 midbrain |
#14 superior colliculi |
#16 cerebral peduncles |
#18 medulla oblongata |
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#13 tectum (corpora quadrigemina) |
#15 inferior colliculi |
#17 pons |
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Cerebellum
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#19 arbor vitae |
#21 vermis |
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#20 folia |
#22 cerebellar peduncles |
Other important structures
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#23 basal nuclei |
#25 fornix |
#27 pituitary gland |
#29 optic chiasm |
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#24 corpus callosum |
#26 cingulate gyrus |
#28 infundibulum |
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Station Two: Unique Features and Pathway of CSF
Label the models of this station with the number that corresponds to the appropriate structure of the peripheral nervous system using the colored tape. When you are finished, ask your TA to check your labeling. Before leaving the station, remove all the labels you have placed on the model.
Note: For the following structures, be able to differentiate between left and right halves when applicable.
Composition of the Brain
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#1 gray matter |
#2 white matter |
Superficial Characteristics of the Brain
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#3 gyri (convulsions) |
#5 sulci |
#7 postcentral gyrus |
#9 central sulcus |
#11 transverse fissure |
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#4 fissures |
#6 precentral gyrus |
#8 lateral cerebral sulcus |
#10 parieto-occiptal sulcus |
#12 longitudinal fissure |
Cranial Meninges
These features may not be shown on models, but it is important to be able to identify them in diagrams and on the brains that you will dissect.
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#13 dura mater |
#15 falx cerebelli |
#17 arachnoid mater |
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#14 falx cerebri |
#16 tentorium cerebelli |
#18 pia mater |
Ventricles and Associated Structures
Using the terms in the table below, determine the pathway of cerebrospinal fluid.
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#19 lateral ventricles |
#21 interventricular foramen |
#23 cerebral aqueduct (aqueduct of midbrain) |
#25 choroid plexuses |
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#20 septum pellucidum |
#22 third ventricles |
#24 fourth ventricles |
#26 cerebrospinal fluid |
Station Three: Cranial Nerves
Label the models of this station with the number that corresponds to the appropriate structure of the peripheral nervous system using the colored tape. When you are finished, ask your TA to check your labeling. Before leaving the station, remove all the labels you have placed on the model.
While learning the names, corresponding numbers and location of each of the cranial nerves, be sure to connect these to their functions and the structures they innervate.
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#1 olfactory nerve (I) |
#4 trochlear nerve (IV) |
#7 facial nerve (VII) |
#10 vagus nerve (X) |
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#2 optic nerve (II) |
#5 trigeminal nerve (V) |
#8 vestibulocochlear/ acoustic nerve (VIII) |
#11 Accessory/spinal nerve (XI) |
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#3 oculomotor nerve (III) |
#6 abducens nerve (VI) |
#9 glossopharyngeal nerve (IX) |
#12 hypoglossal nerve (XII) |
Station 4: Histology
Sketch the slides available for today’s lab and specify the magnitude at which you are observing/ sketching. Be sure to identify and label your sketch with the corresponding structures listed beneath each slide.
| Cerebrum | Cerebellum |
Station Five: Brain Dissection without Meninges
- Orientate the brain such that the posterior aspect containing the brain stem is facing you. Obtain the scalpel from your kit and place it on the anterior (farthest from you) portion of the longitudinal fissure. Using a scalpel, firmly press down on the brain while simultaneously bringing the scalpel carefully towards you; this makes a clean incision down the sagittal plane of the brain. ( DO NOT make sawing motions with the scalpel .) Continue to make incisions until you have separated the brain into its two hemispheres.
- Obtain pins from the table and place them into as many structures as you can identify. Your lab TA will come around and ask you to identify the pins you have placed.
*If you are the last table to use this station, be sure to clean off the dissection kits in the lab sink.
Station Six: Brain Dissection with Meninges
- The brain you will receive at this station will have the tough, fibrous meninges still surrounding it. Pinch this tissue between your fingers to separate it from the brain. Using the scissors in your dissection kit, carefully make an incision in the tissue until you have created a hole from which to cut. Cut the meninx, make sure that it comes away from the brain without pulling on the brain’s outer cortex.
- Once the outermost meninx has been removed orientate the brain such that the posterior aspect containing the brain stem is facing you. Obtain the scalpel from your kit and place it on the anterior (farthest from you) portion of the longitudinal fissure of the brain. Using the scalpel, firmly press down on the brain while simultaneously bringing the scalpel carefully towards you; this makes a clean incision down the sagittal plane of the brain. ( DO NOT make sawing motions with the scalpel .) Continue to make incisions until you have separated the brain into its two main hemispheres.
- Obtain pins from the table and place them on as many structures as you can identify. Your lab TA will come around and ask you to identify the pins you have placed.
*If you are the last table to use this station, be sure to clean off the dissection kits in the lab sink.


<IP_ADDRESS>: Nouns
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Nouns
A noun is a person, place, object, idea, or event. “The word noun , in fact, comes from nomen , the Latin word for name ” (Kolln, 1994, p. 276). Nouns are the first words you learned as a child, and you probably have a really strong sense of what a noun is. After all, how could we possibly talk about anything if we’re unable to give it a name?
So you may be wondering why in the world we have to complicate something as simple as nouns by discussing so many different types of nouns. The answer is that it’s important to learn about the different types of nouns as you work to ensure proper structures and agreements in your sentences.
Proper Nouns
A proper noun refers to a specific person, place, organization, etc. Proper nouns are capitalized because they are specific nouns.
Some examples of proper nouns are Steven, Apple (the company), New York, and the Seattle Seahawks.
Common Nouns
A common noun refers to a general group or class of people, places, objects, etc. One way to identify a common noun is called the “the” test. If you can use the noun with the article the (or another article like a or an) in front of it, the word is likely a common noun.
Some examples are the game , the movie , and the ghost .
Of course, it’s important to remember that the “the” test does not work all the time. It’s just a good guideline.
Some exceptions to the “the” test would be with proper nouns (discussed on the previous page) like the Dallas Cowboys and the Boston Red Sox. Even though they would pass the “the” test, they are proper nouns, not common nouns.
Collective Nouns
Nouns can get a little tricky when it comes to a discussion of collective nouns. Collective nouns are nouns such as family, team, and majority. The tricky part comes when we have to make a decision about whether these nouns are singular or plural because we have to choose verbs that will agree with these nouns.
And, now, here’s the really tricky part: There are no hard and fast rules. The verb you choose to agree with the collective noun actually depends upon how you want your readers to perceive the noun. Is it a single unit or a group of individuals? Even then, it depends upon context. Take the collective noun family, for example.
- The family have all gone their separate ways since Grandma died.
Here, because each member went his or her separate way, you would see the collective noun family as a group of individuals; therefore, you would use a plural verb instead of a singular verb.
But let’s look at another example.
- The whole family is coming to my house for Thanksgiving this year. I had better learn to cook a turkey.
Here, the family is seen as a single unit, so you would need a singular verb to agree with the collective noun.
In her book, Rhetorical Grammar , Martha Kolln (1991) says “[collective nouns] can be treated as either singular or plural, depending on context and meaning” (p. 47). So, it really does depend on the situation.
You may be wondering how this information is helpful. The key is to think about how you might perceive the collective noun and then, of course, to consider how it’s used in the sentence.
And, after all, there are only about 200 collective nouns in the English language, so you really only have to worry about 200 of these. Okay, that’s a lot. But this is a great example of how, very often, there are no hard and fast rules for grammar.
Verbal Nouns
A verbal noun is a type of noun that is derived from a verb. It looks like a verb but actually functions in a sentence like a noun. Here are some examples:
- Running from zombies is hard work.
- Jogging is a good exercise that will help you prepare, but you have to do it every day.
- We had a meeting to compare our zombie action plans.
Verbal nouns and something called gerunds (a form of a verb or verb phrase that functions as a noun phrase and subject in a sentence) are very similar. In fact, the first two examples above are examples of verbal nouns that are also gerunds. But, a verbal noun can be more than a gerund. In the last example, the word "meeting" is functioning like a noun but isn’t a noun phrase that’s the subject of a sentence.
It can certainly get a little confusing, and even the grammar experts disagree sometimes about the differences between verbal nouns and gerunds.
The key thing for you to remember is that, when we are talking about nouns, verbs can sometimes function in your sentences like nouns.
Compound Nouns
A compound noun is a noun made up of two or more words. Sometimes, compound nouns are hyphenated, but there are plenty of examples of compound nouns that are not hyphenated. There are also compound nouns that are written as one word. Here are some examples:
- Mother-in-law
- Waste-paper basket
- Full moon
- Blackboard
Some compound nouns that used to be hyphenated are no longer hyphenated, and some compound nouns that used to be two words became one word. The “rules” change based upon common usage.
Paper-clip is now just paperclip.
And healthcare is now generally considered just one word, but some people still say it should be two words, health care.
“Rules” of correctness change constantly, and rules related to compound nouns change rather quickly. If you’re in doubt about how to write a compound noun, be sure to check a good online dictionary.


1.2: Job Analysis
How to Perform a Job Analysis
Image: Questionnaire. Icons.com. CC-BY 4.0
Guiding Question
How do I conduct a job analysis to ensure the job description matches the duties performed by the employee in the job?
Table of Contents
- What Is a Job Analysis?
- Popular Job Analysis Methods
- How To Perform an Effective Job Analysis
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Job Descriptions Must Match Current Needs
As jobs and industries evolve, employers must update their job descriptions to reflect their current needs. A job analysis defines the duties, responsibilities and skills required for a specific role. In this article, we’ll discuss the popular types of job analysis methods and how you can make your own.
Job analysis is the process of gathering, examining and interpreting data about a job's tasks and responsibilities. It generally includes tracking an employee's duties and the duration of each task, observing the employee performing his or her job, interviewing the employee, managers and others who interact with the employee, and comparing the job to other jobs in the same department and job grade or job family. An important concept in job analysis is that it is an evaluation of the job, not the person doing the job. The final product from a job analysis includes a thorough understanding of the essential functions of the job, a list of all duties and responsibilities, a percentage of time spent for each group of tasks, the job's relative importance in comparison with other jobs, the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) needed to perform the job, and the conditions under which the work is completed.
There are many ways to perform a job analysis, but all require the cooperation of the employee in the position, his or her manager(s) and others the employee works closely with while performing his or her job duties.
The following steps will help provide the best analysis of a particular job:
- Have employees complete a job analysis questionnaire.
- Interview employees, asking them specific questions about their job duties and responsibilities.
- Obtain log sheets from employees with information about each of their tasks and the time spent on each task for at least one full work week.
- Complete desk audits where you observe employees doing their jobs at different times of the day and days of the week and track what they do and for how long.
- Interview supervisors and managers, and other employees, clients and customers the employee may interact with while performing the job.
- Compare the job to other jobs in the department as well as the job grade or job family to show where it falls on the pay scale.
If there is more than one person doing the same job, make sure to observe and obtain feedback and information from more than one person. You will want to review your ndings with the employees who do the job as well as their supervisors and managers to tweak your ndings until you have an accurate reection of the job duties and responsibilities.
Once an accurate overview of a position is developed, employers should update the job description to match the results of the job analysis.
Job descriptions can be used as a tool for recruiting, determining salary ranges and levels or grades, establishing job titles, creating employee's job goals and objectives, and conducting performance reviews. They can also be used for career planning, creating reasonable accommodations and meeting legal requirements for compliance purposes. Because of this, it is important to have written job descriptions that accurately reect the employees' current job duties and responsibilities.
Source: Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) . 2024.
NOTE: A printable PDF is attached below.


5.10E: Nitrification
- Describe the process of nitrification and its importance
Nitrification is the process by which ammonia (NH 3 ) or ammonium (NH4 + ) is converted to nitrate (NO 3 − ). Nitrification is the net result of two distinct processes: oxidation of ammonium to nitrite (NO 2 − ) by nitrosifying or ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and oxidation of nitrite (NO 2 − ) to nitrate (NO 3 − ) by the nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. Nitrification is an important step in the nitrogen cycle in soil. Nitrification is an aerobic process performed by small groups of autotrophic bacteria and archaea.
Chemistry of Nitrogen Compound Oxidation
Nitrification is a process of nitrogen compound oxidation (effectively, loss of electrons from the nitrogen atom to the oxygen atoms):
- 2 NH 4 + + 3 O 2 → 2 NO 2 – + 2 H 2 O + 4 H + (Nitrosomonas)
- 2 NO 2 – + O 2 → 2 NO 3 – (Nitrobacter, Nitrospina)
- NH 3 + O 2 → NO 2 − + 3H + + 2e −
- NO 2 − + H 2 O → NO 3 − + 2H + + 2e −
Both of these processes are extremely energetically poor, which leads to very slow growth rates for both types of organisms.
Ammonium Oxidation
The transformation of ammonia to nitrite is usually the rate limiting step of nitrification. Biochemically, ammonium oxidation occurs by the stepwise oxidation of ammonium to hydroxylamine (NH 2 OH) by the enzyme ammonium monooxygenase in the cytoplasm, followed by the oxidation of hydroxylamine to nitrite by the enzyme hydroxylamine oxidoreductase in the periplasm. Electron and proton cycling are very complex, but as a net result only one proton is translocated across the membrane per molecule of ammonium oxidized.
Nitrite Reduction
Nitrite reduction is much simpler, with nitrite being oxidized by the enzyme nitrite oxidoreductase coupled to proton translocation by a very short electron transport chain, again leading to very low growth rates for these organisms. Oxygen is required in ammonium and nitrite oxidation, meaning that both nitrosifying and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria are aerobes. As in sulfur and iron oxidation, NADH for carbon dioxide fixation using the Calvin cycle is generated by reverse electron flow, thereby placing a further metabolic burden on an already energy-poor process.
Human Applications of Nitrification
Nitrification is important in agricultural systems, where fertilizer is often applied as ammonia. Nitrification also plays an important role in the removal of nitrogen from municipal wastewater. The conventional removal is nitrification, followed by denitrification.
Key Points
- Nitrification is actually the net result of two distinct processes: the oxidation of ammonia (NH 3 ) or ammonium (NH 4 + ) to nitrite (NO 2 − ) by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (e.g. Nitrosomonas) and the oxidation of nitrite (NO 2 – ) to nitrate (NO 3 – ) by the nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (e.g. Nitrobacter).
- Nitrification is extremely energetically poor leading to very slow growth rates for both types of organisms.
- Oxygen is required in ammonium and nitrite oxidation; ammonia-oxidizing and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria are aerobes.
Key Terms
- chemolithotrophy : A type of metabolism where energy is obtained from the oxidation of inorganic compounds.
- nitrification : The biological oxidation of ammonia or ammonium with oxygen into nitrite followed by the oxidation of these nitrites into nitrates.


20.7.1: Review Questions
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Review Questions
1 .
What type of lochia is bright to dark red and occurs on days 1–3 postpartum?
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rubra
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serosa
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placental
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alba
2 .
What physiologic postpartum change occurs because the uterus shrinks in size, resulting in an increase in blood flow?
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Edema increases.
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Cardiac output increases.
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Temperature rises.
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Lochia increases.
3 .
What is the term for the separation found in the midline of the abdomen after birth?
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uterine subinvolution
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umbilical hernia
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striae
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diastasis recti abdominus
4 .
The nurse assesses the fundus and finds it to be boggy, elevated >2 fingerbreadths above the umbilicus, and deviated to one side. What is the common cause of this finding?
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uterine rupture
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full bladder
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perineal laceration
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hematoma
5 .
What is the nursing intervention for unilateral edema in a lower extremity and a hot, red area on the leg?
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Contact the health-care provider.
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Explain this is a normal finding.
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Massage calf.
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Offer pain medication.
6 .
The nurse screens for risk factors such as an infant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), difficulty in role transition, birth complications, unmet social and physical needs, and lack of partner support for what complication?
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maladaptive parenting
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psychosis
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postpartum depression
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bipolar disorder
7 .
The nurse assesses the breasts. What is a warning sign?
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colostrum expressed
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nipple everted
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redness, pain, and heat
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filling with milk
8 .
The postpartum person asks for only warm drinks and food. How can the nurse support this cultural tradition?
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Explain that nurses do not have control over the food.
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Tell the person that cold fluids are better for recovery.
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Instruct the person to call the nurse to warm up food or drink.
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Educate the person on culture in the United States.
9 .
The nurse assesses for signs of depression or postpartum blues. How can the nurse explain the difference?
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PPD is less severe and resolves in a few weeks.
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Postpartum blues can last up to a year.
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PPD is a normal expectation of postpartum.
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Postpartum blues symptoms include irritability and sadness.
10 .
What theory developed by Ramona Mercer focused on the process of becoming a mother?
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Maternal Role Attainment
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Postpartum Adapting
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Postpartum Maternal Change
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Maternal Encouragement
11 .
The nurse recognizes the postpartum person is in what stage of Rubin’s attachment model when the person is concerned with physical recovery and depends on the nurse or partner for help physically?
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Taking In
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Taking Hold
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Postpartum Maternal Change
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Attainment of Change
12 .
What do ineffective parenting practices put the newborn at risk for?
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sleeplessness
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reflux
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lack of attachment
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NICU admission
13 .
Postpartum persons who lack attachment with their newborn exhibit what behavior?
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intense eye contact
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avoid holding the newborn
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cuddling
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exploring the newborn
14 .
The nurse evaluates a postpartum couplet for parent-infant attachment. What finding would be concerning?
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The postpartum person is sleepy.
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Parents are both caring for the infant.
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The parent is disinterested in the infant.
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The family is involved.
15 .
The person with a cesarean birth has additional nursing concerns beyond those of a person with a vaginal birth. What concern should the nurse anticipate for the cesarean birth?
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increased risk for DVT
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faster recovery
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less use of pain medication
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less risk for infection
16 .
During the first 8 hours postpartum, the nurse will demonstrate how to perform a fundal massage and assist with breast-feeding techniques. What other assessment is important at this time?
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assessment of partner changing a diaper
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assessment of vaginal bleeding
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assessment of social support
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assessment of family dynamics
17 .
The nurse educates the non–breast-feeding person on breast discomfort caused by engorgement. What instructions would they give?
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Massage breasts to release milk.
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Apply cold packs and cabbage leaves.
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Stand in the warm shower to stimulate letdown.
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Do not wear a bra.
18 .
The nurse educates the postpartum person on bowel discomfort. What instructions would they give?
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Limit water intake.
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Use laxatives daily.
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Ambulate often.
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Avoid stool softeners.
19 .
Research has shown what intervention increases involvement of the adolescent partner postpartum?
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involvement of the partner during the prenatal period
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involvement of parents in decision making
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restricting people in the labor room
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providing newborn care in the nursery
20 .
Research has shown that with lesbian parents, the non-birthing person can feel role resentment, exclusion from health-care services, and feelings of neglect. How can the nurse include the non-birthing partner?
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Ask the person to leave the room during the newborn assessment.
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Educate the person to leave the feeding up to the birthing person.
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Demonstrate newborn care to both parents.
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Ask the person’s family how they feel about their relationship.
21 .
The nurse is caring for a birth mother who is relinquishing her newborn. What intervention is appropriate for the nurse?
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Use words like “giving away your child” or “giving up for adoption.”
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Tell the person not to hold the baby.
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Ask the person why she is giving up her baby.
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Ask about the patient’s expectations for having newborn photos or video.
22 .
The nurse reviews postpartum discharge instructions regarding sexual health. What information is important to review?
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Place nothing in the vagina for 4–6 weeks.
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Pregnancy cannot occur until 3 months after birth.
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Sexual intercourse can resume after discharge from the facility.
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Postpartum persons do not have a need for sexual intimacy.
23 .
What information about pain medication should postpartum discharge instructions include?
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Narcotic medications can cause constipation.
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Stop taking iron after birth.
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Do not take NSAIDs while breast-feeding.
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Acetaminophen should be avoided.


17.E: Microbial Mechanisms of Pathogenicity (Exercises)
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- Ying Liu
- City College of San Francisco
15.1: Characteristics of Infectious Diseases
In an infection, a microorganism enters a host and begins to multiply. Some infections cause disease, which is any deviation from the normal function or structure of the host. Signs of a disease are objective and are measured. Symptoms of a disease are subjective and are reported by the patient. Diseases can either be noninfectious (due to genetics and environment) or infectious (due to pathogens).
Multiple Choice
Which of the following would be a sign of an infection?
- muscle aches
- headache
- fever
- nausea
- Answer
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C
Which of the following is an example of a noncommunicable infectious disease?
- infection with a respiratory virus
- food poisoning due to a preformed bacterial toxin in food
- skin infection acquired from a dog bite
- infection acquired from the stick of a contaminated needle
- Answer
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B
During an oral surgery, the surgeon nicked the patient’s gum with a sharp instrument. This allowed Streptococcus , a bacterium normally present in the mouth, to gain access to the blood. As a result, the patient developed bacterial endocarditis (an infection of the heart). Which type of disease is this?
- iatrogenic
- nosocomial
- vectors
- zoonotic
- Answer
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A
Which period is the stage of disease during which the patient begins to present general signs and symptoms?
- convalescence
- incubation
- illness
- prodromal
- Answer
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D
A communicable disease that can be easily transmitted from person to person is which type of disease?
- contagious
- iatrogenic
- acute
- nosocomial
- Answer
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A
Fill in the Blank
A difference between an acute disease and chronic disease is that chronic diseases have an extended period of __________.
- Answer
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illness
A person steps on a rusty nail and develops tetanus. In this case, the person has acquired a(n) __________ disease.
- Answer
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noncommunicable
Short Answer
Brian goes to the hospital after not feeling well for a week. He has a fever of 38 °C (100.4 °F) and complains of nausea and a constant migraine. Distinguish between the signs and symptoms of disease in Brian’s case.
Critical Thinking
Two periods of acute disease are the periods of illness and period of decline. (a) In what way are both of these periods similar? (b) In terms of quantity of pathogen, in what way are these periods different? (c) What initiates the period of decline?
In July 2015, a report 1 was released indicating the gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa was found on hospital sinks 10 years after the initial outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit. P. aeruginosa usually causes localized ear and eye infections but can cause pneumonia or septicemia in vulnerable individuals like newborn babies. Explain how the current discovery of the presence of this reported P. aeruginosa could lead to a recurrence of nosocomial disease.
15.2: How Pathogens Cause Disease
Koch’s postulates are used to determine whether a particular microorganism is a pathogen. Molecular Koch’s postulates are used to determine what genes contribute to a pathogen’s ability to cause disease. Virulence, the degree to which a pathogen can cause disease, can be quantified by calculating either the ID50 or LD50 of a pathogen on a given population. Primary pathogens are capable of causing pathological changes associated with disease in a healthy individual.
Multiple Choice
Which of the following is a pathogen that could not be identified by the original Koch’s postulates?
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Human immunodeficiency virus
- Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium
- Answer
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C
Pathogen A has an ID 50 of 50 particles, pathogen B has an ID 50 of 1,000 particles, and pathogen C has an ID 50 of 1 × 10 6 particles. Which pathogen is most virulent?
- pathogen A
- pathogen B
- pathogen C
- Answer
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A
Which of the following choices lists the steps of pathogenesis in the correct order?
- invasion, infection, adhesion, exposure
- adhesion, exposure, infection, invasion
- exposure, adhesion, invasion, infection
- disease, infection, exposure, invasion
- Answer
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C
Fill in the Blank
A(n) __________ pathogen causes disease only when conditions are favorable for the microorganism because of transfer to an inappropriate body site or weakened immunity in an individual.
- Answer
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opportunistic
The concentration of pathogen needed to kill 50% of an infected group of test animals is the __________.
- Answer
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LD 50
A(n) __________ infection is a small region of infection from which a pathogen may move to another part of the body to establish a second infection.
- Answer
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focal
Cilia, fimbriae, and pili are all examples of structures used by microbes for __________.
- Answer
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adhesion
Critical Thinking
Diseases that involve biofilm-producing bacteria are of serious concern. They are not as easily treated compared with those involving free-floating (or planktonic) bacteria. Explain three reasons why biofilm formers are more pathogenic.
A microbiologist has identified a new gram-negative pathogen that causes liver disease in rats. She suspects that the bacterium’s fimbriae are a virulence factor. Describe how molecular Koch’s postulates could be used to test this hypothesis.
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine that is used for pain relief. Explain how acupuncture could facilitate exposure to pathogens.
15.3: Virulence Factors
Virulence factors contribute to a pathogen’s ability to cause disease. Exoenzymes and toxins allow pathogens to invade host tissue and cause tissue damage. Exoenzymes are classified according to the macromolecule they target and exotoxins are classified based on their mechanism of action. Bacterial toxins include endotoxin and exotoxins. Endotoxin is the lipid A component of the LPS of the gram-negative cell envelope. Exotoxins are proteins secreted mainly by gram-positive bacteria.
Multiple Choice
Which of the following would be a virulence factor of a pathogen?
- a surface protein allowing the pathogen to bind to host cells
- a secondary host the pathogen can infect
- a surface protein the host immune system recognizes
- the ability to form a provirus
- Answer
-
A
You have recently identified a new toxin. It is produced by a gram-negative bacterium. It is composed mostly of protein, has high toxicity, and is not heat stable. You also discover that it targets liver cells. Based on these characteristics, how would you classify this toxin?
- superantigen
- endotoxin
- exotoxin
- leukocidin
- Answer
-
C
Which of the following applies to hyaluronidase?
- It acts as a spreading factor.
- It promotes blood clotting.
- It is an example of an adhesin.
- It is produced by immune cells to target pathogens.
- Answer
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A
Phospholipases are enzymes that do which of the following?
- degrade antibodies
- promote pathogen spread through connective tissue.
- degrade nucleic acid to promote spread of pathogen
- degrade cell membranes to allow pathogens to escape phagosomes
- Answer
-
D
Fill in the Blank
The glycoprotein adhesion gp120 on HIV must interact with __________ on some immune cells as the first step in the process of infecting the cell.
- Answer
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CD4
Adhesins are usually located on __________ of the pathogen and are composed mainly of __________ and __________.
- Answer
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surface; proteins; sugars
The Shiga and diphtheria toxins target __________ in host cells.
- Answer
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protein synthesis
Antigenic __________ is the result of reassortment of genes responsible for the production of influenza virus spike proteins between different virus particles while in the same host, whereas antigenic __________ is the result of point mutations in the spike proteins.
- Answer
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shift; drift
Critical Thinking
Two types of toxins are hemolysins and leukocidins. (a) How are these toxins similar? (b) How do they differ?
Imagine that a mutation in the gene encoding the cholera toxin was made. This mutation affects the A-subunit, preventing it from interacting with any host protein. (a) Would the toxin be able to enter into the intestinal epithelial cell? (b) Would the toxin be able to cause diarrhea?
15.4: Aseptic Techniques
Fungal and parasitic pathogens use pathogenic mechanisms and virulence factors that are similar to those of bacterial pathogens. Fungi initiate infections through the interaction of adhesins with receptors on host cells. Some fungi produce toxins and exoenzymes involved in disease production and capsules that provide protection of phagocytosis. Protozoa adhere to target cells through complex mechanisms and can cause cellular damage through release of cytopathic substances.
Multiple Choice
Which of the following is a major virulence factor for the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus?
- hemolysin
- capsule
- collagenase
- fimbriae
- Answer
-
B
Which of the following pathogens undergoes antigenic variation to avoid immune defenses?
- Candida
- Cryptococcus
- Plasmodium
- Giardia
- Answer
-
C
Fill in the Blank
Candida can invade tissue by producing the exoenzymes __________ and __________.
- Answer
-
protease and phospholipase
The larval form of Schistosoma mansoni uses a __________ to help it gain entry through intact skin.
- Answer
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protease
Short Answer
Describe the virulence factors associated with the fungal pathogen Aspergillus.
Explain how helminths evade the immune system.
Footnotes
- 1 C. Owens. “ P. aeruginosa survives in sinks 10 years after hospital outbreak.” 2015. http://www.healio.com/infectious-disease/nosocomial-infections/news/online/%7B5afba909-56d9-48cc-a9b0-ffe4568161e8%7D/p-aeruginosa-survives-in-sinks-10-years-after-hospital-outbreak


2.2: Thinking about Population
2.2.1 The Greeks and Ecumene
No discussion of population is complete without a brief history of the philosophical understanding of population. This discussion starts as it often does, with the ancient Greeks. The Greeks considered that they lived in the best place on Earth. In fact, they believed in the exact center of the habitable part of the Earth. They called the habitable part of the Earth ecumene . To the Greeks, places north of them were too cold, and places to the south were too hot. Placing your own homeland in the center of goodness is common; many groups have done this. The Greeks decided that the environment explained the distribution of people. To an extent, their thinking persists, but only at the most extreme definitions. Many places that the Greeks would have found too cold (Moscow, Stockholm) too hot (Kuwait City, Las Vegas) too wet (Manaus, Singapore) or too dry (Timbuktu, Lima) have very large populations.
2.2.2 Modern Ideas About Population
Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) “Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio.” 4
Ester Boserup (1910-1999) “The power of ingenuity would always outmatch that of demand.” 5
Modern discussions of population begin with food. From the time of Thomas Malthus (quoted above), modern humans have acknowledged the rapidly expanding human population and its relationship with the food supply. Malthus himself was a cleric in England who spent much of his time studying political economy. His views were a product not only of his time, but also of his place. In Malthus’ case his time and place were a time of social, political, and economic change.
Karl Marx (1818–1883) took issue with Malthus’ ideas. Marx wrote that population growth alone was not responsible for a population’s inability to feed itself, but that imbalanced social, political, and economic structures createdartificial shortages. He also believed that growing populations reinforced the power of capitalists, since large pools of underemployed laborers could more easily be exploited.
The post-World War II period saw a flurry of books warning of the dangers of population growth with books like Fairfield Osborn’s Our Plundered Planet and William Vogt’s Road to Survival . Perhaps most explicit was Paul and Anne Ehrlich’s The Population Bomb .
These books are warnings of the dangers of unchecked population growth. Malthus wrote that populations tend to grow faster than the expansion of food production and that populations will grow until they outstrip their food supplies. This is to say that starvation, war, and disease were all predictions of Malthus and were revived in these Neo-Malthusian publications. Some part of the current conversation of environmentalism regards limiting the growth of the human population, echoing Malthus.
A common theme of these books is that they all attempt to predict the future. One of the advantages we have living centuries or decades after these books is the opportunity to see if these predictions were accurate or not. Ehrlich’s book predicted that by the 1970s, starvation would be widespread because of food shortages and a collapse in food production. That did not happen. In fact, the global disasters predicted in all these books have yet to arrive decades later. What saved us?
Perhaps nothing has saved us. We have just managed to push the reckoning a bit further down the road.
If we have been saved, then the assumptions inherent in the predictions were wrong. What were they?
- Humans would not voluntarily limit their reproduction.
- Farming technology would suddenly stop advancing.
- Food distribution systems would not improve.
- Land would become unusable from overuse.
All of these assumptions have proven to be wrong, at least so far. Only the most negative interpretation of any particular factor in this equation could be accepted.
One the other hand, Ester Boserup, an agricultural economist in the twentieth century, drew nearly the opposite conclusion from her study of human population. Her reason for doing so were manifold. First, she was born one and one -half centuries later, which gave her considerably more data to interpret. Second, she didn’t grow to adulthood in the center of a burgeoning empire. She was a functionary in the early days of the United Nations. Third, she was a trained as an economist, and finally, she was a woman. Each one of these factors was important.
2.2.3 Let’s Investigate Each One of These Assumptions
In preindustrial societies, children are a workforce and a retirement plan. Families can try to use large numbers of children to improve their economic prospects. Children are literally an economic asset. Birth rates fall when societies industrialize. They fall dramatically when women enter the paid workforce. Children in industrialized societies are generally not working and are not economic assets. The focus in such societies tends to be preparing children through education for a technologically-skilled livelihood. Developed societies tend to care for their elderly population, decreasing the need for a large family. Developed societies also have lower rates of infant mortality, meaning that more children survive to adulthood.
The increasing social power of women factors into this. Women who control their own lives rarely choose to have large numbers of children. Related to this, the invention and distribution of birth control technologies has reduced human numbers in places where it is available.
Farming technology has increased tremendously. More food is now produced on less land than was farmed a century ago. Some of these increases are due to manipulations of the food itself—more productive seeds and pesticides, but some part of this is due to improvements in food processing and distribution. Just think of the advantages that refrigeration, freezing, canning and dehydrating have given us. Add to that the ability to move food tremendous distances at relatively low cost. Somehow, during the time that all these technologies were becoming available, Neo-Malthusians were discounting them.
Some marginal land has become unusable, either through desertification or erosion, but this land was not particularly productive anyway, hence the term marginal. The loss of this land has been more than compensated by improved production.
At this point, it looks like a win for Boserup, but maybe it isn’t. Up to this point we have been mixing our discussions of scale. Malthus was largely writing about the British Isles, and Boserup was really writing about the developed countries of the world. The local realities can be much more complex.
At the global scale there is enough food, and that has been true for decades. In fact, many developed societies produce more food than they can either consume or sell. The local situation is completely different. There are developed countries that have been unable to grow food to feed themselves for over a century. The United Kingdom, Malthus’ home, is one of them. However, no one ever calls the U.K. overpopulated. Why not? Because they can buy food on the world market.
Local-scale famines happen because poorer places cannot produce enough food for themselves and then cannot or will not buy food from other places. Places that are politically marginalized within a country can also experience famines when central governments choose not to mobilize resources toward the disfavored. Politically unstable places may not even have the necessary infrastructure to deliver free food from other parts of the world. This is assuming that food aid is even a good idea (a concept revisited in the agriculture chapter). These sorts of problems persist to this day and they have an impact of population, although often in unpredictable ways, such as triggering large-scale migration or armed conflict.
To recap, at the global level, population has not been limited by food production. However, people do not live at the “global level.” They live locally with whatever circumstances they may have. In many places the realities of food insecurity are paramount.
Although discussions of population tend to start with food, they cannot end with it. People have more needs than their immediate nutrition. They need clothing and shelter as well. They also have desires for a high standard of livingheating, electricity, automobiles and technology. All of these needs and desires require energy and materials. The pressure put on the planet over the last two centuries has less to do with the burgeoning population and more to do with burgeoning expectations of quality of life.
2.2.4 Scale and the Ecological Fallacy
Numbers can be a little bit misleading. You may read that the “average woman” in the United Sates has 1.86 births and wonder, “What does this tell me about a particular woman?” And the answer is . . . it tells you nothing. Remember that number is an aggregate of the data for the entire country, which means it only works at that scale; it only tells you about the country as a whole. The Ecological Fallacy is the idea that statistics generated at one level of aggregation can be applied at other levels of aggregation.
Similarly, one of the biggest problems with maps is that they can make us think that a place is the same (homogenous)within a border. We see a country like the United States, and it has one color for the entire area on the map and we tell ourselves that the U.S. is just one place. And it is. But it’s made of many smaller places. It’s fifty states, and those states combined have 3144 counties (and county-like things). And each one of those things is a level of aggregation. It looks a bit like this ( Figure 2.6 ).
Webb County only uses the data from one county. New Mexico uses the data for its 33 counties, and the U.S. uses the data for all its counties. Each level of aggregation has its calculated value. They are all different. And they still tell younothing about an individual person.


1.1: The Greek Alphabet
Module 1
© 2021 Philip S. Peek, CC BY 4.0 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0264.01
The Alphabet
About 300,000 years ago homo sapiens regularly used fire—one of our greatest technologies, enabling us to create many more technologies dependent upon it. The agricultural revolution dates to about 12,000 years ago. Before this revolution, we hunted and gathered in small bands requiring vast territories to sustain us. Farming enabled our species to feed many more mouths per acre and for ever-increasing numbers of us to settle in small areas. It also enabled the first empires, which date to about 4000 years ago. The administration of a large state required written records, and so in this period we see the rise of various writing systems, none of which were alphabetic, instead relying on ideograms and syllabaries. Today there are dozens of alphabets with no set characteristics. The Khmer alphabet, which represents Cambodian, has 74 characters. The writing systems of most languages, such as English, are based on the Latin alphabet, which was derived from the Greek, and have 24–26 characters. The alphabet made possible a vast number of additional technologies dependent upon writing.
The origin of the Greek alphabet dates to about 800 BCE, though there is disagreement on exactly when it was invented. When the Greeks adapted the Phoenician syllabary, which represented consonants only, they introduced a refinement, taking the symbols for glottal stops, which do not appear in Greek, and using them instead to represent vowels. The new alphabet gave the Greeks the ability to represent in their entirety each sound that made up a word. Exactly how, when, and why the adaptions occurred is uncertain and the story of how it happened is fascinating and not without its oddities. Some of the consonantal adaptions of the Phoenician syllabary to the Greek alphabet represent a correspondence between sounds, just as the sound of the English consonant l is similar to the sound of the Greek consonant λ . One oddity is that the sounds of the Greek letters chi χ and phi φ were not represented at all, though they easily could have been, and were added to the alphabet much later. Oddities aside, the most astounding feature of the new invention was the adding of vowels to the syllabary. It is one that in retrospect seems obvious. It was not. The Greek inventors took a syllabary of a Semitic language, outside the Indo-European family tree to which Greek belongs, and adapted it, creating something novel. The innovation was discontinuous and revolutionary. Due to the addition of vowels, the Greek alphabet is called the first true one. 1
Throughout Greece and its many independent city-states, there were over twenty different dialects in use and a number of variations in the alphabet. Some Greek letters differed from one district to the next and a few disappeared, notably digamma ϝ , a w-sound, koppa Ϙ , a q-sound, and san Ϻ , or sampi ϡ , whose sound is unclear. In about 400 BCE Athens officially adopted the 24-letter Ionian alphabet, which is the one presented in this book. The ancient Greeks wrote in all capitals. We owe the lower-case letters to a later time of Byzantine scribes and the ingenious printers of the Renaissance. Look over this alphabet and notice that you are familiar with many of the letters and the sounds they make. Many of the English words have been chosen to present as accurately as possible the rendering of the Greek sound. For example s p ot for π is pronounced with no aspiration accompanying the p-sound.
Alphabet Chart
Sound equivalents are bolded.
|
Letter |
Name |
ὄνομα |
Pronunciation |
Transliteration |
|
Α α |
alpha |
ἄλφα |
long ᾱ : f a ther short α : a bout |
a |
|
Β β |
beta |
βῆτα |
b it |
b |
|
Γ γ |
gamma |
γάμμα |
g o |
g |
|
Δ δ |
delta |
δέλτα |
d ot |
d |
|
Ε ε |
epsilon |
ἒ ψιλόν |
always short: b e t |
e |
|
Ζ ζ |
zeta |
ζῆτα |
wi sd om |
z |
|
Η η |
eta |
ἦτα |
always long: a te |
e |
|
Θ θ |
theta |
θῆτα |
th eater |
th |
|
Ι ι |
iota |
ἰῶτα |
long ῑ : m ee t short ι : b i n |
i |
|
Κ κ |
kappa |
κάππα |
s k in |
k, c |
|
Λ λ |
lambda |
λάμβδα |
l it |
l |
|
Μ μ |
mu |
μῦ |
m eet |
m |
|
Ν ν |
nu |
νῦ |
n eat |
n |
|
Ξ ξ |
xi |
ξῖ |
bo x |
x |
|
Ο ο |
omicron |
ὂ μικρόν |
always short: th ou ght |
o |
|
Π π |
pi |
πῖ |
s p ot |
p |
|
Ρ ρ |
rho |
ῥῶ |
rr at (slight roll) |
r, rh |
|
Σ σ ς |
sigma |
σίγμα |
s et ( ς replaces σ at the ends of words) |
s |
|
Τ τ |
tau |
ταῦ |
s t ing |
t |
|
Υ υ |
upsilon |
ὖ ψιλόν |
long ῡ : m u se short υ : p u t |
u, y |
|
Φ φ |
phi |
φῖ |
f it |
ph |
|
Χ χ |
chi |
χῖ |
lun kh ead |
kh, ch |
|
Ψ ψ |
psi |
ψῖ |
u ps et |
ps |
|
Ω ω |
omega |
ὢ μέγα |
always long: t o tal |
o |
Pronunciation
The equivalents given above represent a close approximation of the sounds each letter made, though some sounds have been chosen because native speakers of English find them easier to pronounce. Except in these few cases, this text uses the same pronunciation as does Mastronarde in his text and on his website,
AtticGreek.org Pronunciation Guide. 2
For the differences between this text and the website, see the Introduction, Pronunciation.
A tenet of this book is embracing change, difference, and diversity.  Should you wish to adopt them, note the following differences, which follow the pronunciation system used by JACT in their Reading Greek series.
Η η : h ai r
Θ θ : t oy (note the exhalation of breath when pronouncing the t ).
Ο ο : p o t
Υ υ : French l u ne or German M ü ller
Φ φ : p ool (note the exhalation of breath when pronouncing the p ).
Ω ω : s aw
Memorize the Names of the Alphabet
In this module your goal is to memorize the alphabet and know it as well as you know the English alphabet. As a first step, memorize the names of the letters by singing or chanting them as you did when you first learned the English alphabet. Chunking the names into groups of four may make the task more manageable.
|
• |
alpha, beta, gamma, delta |
ἄλφα , βῆτα , γά μμα , δέλτα |
|
• |
epsilon, zeta, eta, theta |
ἒ ψιλόν , ζῆτα , ἦτα , θῆτα |
|
• |
iota, kappa, lambda, mu |
ἰῶτα , κάππα , λάμβδα , μῦ |
|
• |
nu, xi, omicron, pi |
νῦ , ξῖ , ὂ μικρόν , πῖ |
|
• |
rho, sigma, tau, upsilon |
ῥῶ , σί γμα , ταῦ , ὖ ψιλόν |
|
• |
phi, chi, psi, omega |
φῖ , χῖ , ψῖ , ὦ μέγα |
Long and Short Vowel Sounds
Greek vowels have length or quantity ; their quantity is either long or short. Long vowels take approximately twice as long to pronounce. Say out loud the English word drama . Note the difference in the amount of time you take to pronounce the first syllable dra and the second syllable ma . The a of the first syllable takes longer to pronounce, just as in Greek the long alpha takes longer to pronounce than does the short alpha.
Greek has five long vowels and five short vowels. Eta and o-mega ( big o ) are always long. Epsilon and o-micron ( little o ) are always short. Alpha, iota, and upsilon can be long or short. A long mark or macron ( μακρόν ) is placed above these vowels when they are long, as in ᾱ . Short vowels and vowels that are always long ( η , ω ) are not marked. When you read out loud, pay attention to the vowel sounds and their quantity. Hearing quantity is especially important when attempting to feel the rhythm of a line of poetry or of a prose sentence.
|
|
1. Note that in authentic texts macrons are not used. In this textbook macrons are used in the paradigms. Otherwise they are typically omitted.
Memorize the Long and Short Vowel Sounds
Memorize the alphabet and the sounds the letters make.
- Write out each vowel from memory.
- As you write out each vowel, pronounce the sound it makes out loud.
- Pronounce the sound of each vowel out loud as you write it in your mind or in the sky.
- When you pronounce each sound, picture the corresponding letter.
- Reproduce from memory the above chart.
Diphthongs
Some pairs of vowels, called diphthongs, are pronounced together, producing a combined sound of two vowels in a single syllable. The English words l ou d , l oi n , and l ai r all have diphthongs that produce a combination of two differing vowel sounds. Greek diphthongs function similarly. The second letter of a diphthong is always iota, ι , or upsilon, υ . For meter and accentuation, diphthongs are considered long with one exception. The diphthongs αι and οι , when final or the last two letters of a word, are short except in the optative, a mood learned in Part II of the 21 st -Century series. Note that the breathing and accent, explained below, are placed over the second vowel of the diphthong: α ἰ θήρ , η ὗ ρον .
Pronunciation of Diphthongs
Except for pronouncing the diphthong υι like the wi sound of wi t, instead of combining the rounded vowel ÿ with semivocalic i as Mastronarde recommends, this text uses the same pronunciation for diphthongs as does Mastronarde.
|
Diphthong |
Pronunciation |
Transliteration |
|
αι |
f i ne |
ai, ae, e |
|
ει |
ei ght |
ei, e, i |
|
οι |
b oy |
oi, oe, e, i |
|
υι |
wi t |
ui |
|
αυ |
sc ow l |
au |
|
ευ |
( ε + υ : f ew ; f eu d) |
eu |
|
ηυ |
( η + υ : h ey + y ou ) |
eu |
|
ου |
b oo t |
ou, u |
- All diphthongs are long with these exceptions: - αι and - οι , when they are the last two letters of a word (final - αι and - οι ), are short for purposes of accentuation except in the optative, a mood learned in Part II of the 21st-Century series. As you work through the text, the short quantity of final - αι and – οι will make sense. Note that ει and η are pronounced alike, as are ου and ῡ .
Follow this link to listen to a chanting and a singing of the alphabet by me and by Dr. E. Del Chrol of Marshall University, followed by me pronouncing the long and short vowels and diphthongs:
Memorize the Sounds of the Diphthongs
Memorize the diphthongs and their sounds so that you know them by heart.
- Write out each diphthong from memory.
- As you write out each diphthong, pronounce out loud the sound it makes.
- Pronounce the sound of each diphthong out loud as you write it in your mind or in the sky.
- When you pronounce each sound, picture the corresponding diphthong.
- Reproduce from memory the above chart.
Rough and Smooth Breathings
Greek also has an h-sound, which occurs only at the beginning of certain words. This sound is not indicated by a separate letter but by the symbol ( ῾ ) called a rough breathing. Say out loud the English word, hi . Notice the sharp exhalation of breath. The technical word for this exhalation is aspiration.  Note that when you make the sound of the letter p at the start of words, you expel air. Now say the word hope and note that you do not expel air. The p of pea is aspirated and the p of hope is unaspirated. In Greek the h sound appears only at the beginning of certain words.
|
ἑ ξάγωνον |
hexagon |
|
῾Ε λένη |
Helen |
Note that the rough breathing is placed above lower-case letters and before upper-case ones.
Words beginning with a vowel or diphthong, which do not have the h-sound, have a smooth breathing ( ᾿ ) indicating the absence of the h-sound.
|
ὀ λιγαρχία |
oligarchy |
|
᾿Η λέκτρα |
Electra |
Contrast the placement of the breathing over the lower- and upper-case vowels with its placement over the second vowel of a diphthong:
|
εἰ ρωνεία |
irony |
|
εἵ λως |
helot |
All words beginning with an upsilon have a rough breathing.
|
ὑ πόθεσις |
hypothesis |
Likewise, all words beginning with rho have a rough breathing. Say the English word rooster and note that when you pronounce the letter r you expel breath. Now say the word bird and note that you do not expel any breath when you pronounce the r . Initial rho is pronounced like the r in rooster. Note that the rough breathing is captured in the English spelling of rh etoric and rh ythm.
|
ῥ ητορική |
rhetoric |
|
ῥ υθμός |
rhythm |
Memorize the Letters of the Alphabet
Memorize the letters themselves. For each letter, memorize the upper- and lower-case symbol. To assist you in memorizing the letters, try these techniques:
- Write out the upper- and lower-case letters from memory.
- Picture the upper- and lower-case letters in your head as you write them.
- Write out the upper- and lower-case letters as you say the name of the letter.
- Write out the upper- and lower-case letters as you pronounce the sound the letter makes.
- Reproduce from memory the alphabet chart.
Practice Pronouncing the Words Below. Note that macrons mark the long vowels and short vowels are unmarked.
|
|
To hear the words pronounced, follow the link:
Orthography
In the above in addition to the rough and smooth breathing marks, certain vowels have marks over or in front of them, ᾶ , ῆ , ά , ἄ , ύ , ί , ἕ , ί , Ὅ , ύ . These marks are accents, indicating a special intonation given to the vowel’s pronunciation. In Greek, three accents—acute, grave, or circumflex—mark a raising (acute) or a neutral (grave) or a raising and lowering (circumflex) of pitch. In English, instead of raising or lowering a syllable’s pitch, we place an emphatic stress on one syl lable. Pronounce the word rhetoric and note that the syllable rhe is stressed.
Originally, ancient Greeks wrote using all capital letters, no punctuation, and often no spacing. Eventually as cursive writing became more common, lower-case letters replaced upper-case and accents were added as part of the spelling. Accents and their marks will be explained in Modules 3 , 5 , and 11 . Learning accents will assist you in reading the language out loud, in distinguishing forms that are identical but for accent, and in identifying forms that are difficult to decipher.
More Pronunciation Practice.
|
Greek |
Equivalent |
Derivative |
|
γαῖ ᾰ |
earth |
Gaia |
|
δεινός |
awesome, terrible |
dinosaur |
|
ποιέω |
I make |
onomatopoeia |
|
ναύτης |
sailor |
nautical |
|
γονεύς |
parent |
gonad |
|
ηὗρον |
I found |
eureka! |
|
πλοῦτος |
wealth |
plutocracy |
|
ἄ νθρωπος |
man |
anthropology |
|
βίος |
life |
biology |
|
γλῶττᾰ |
tongue |
polyglot |
|
διδάσκᾰλος |
teacher |
didactic |
|
ἐνθουσιᾰ σμός |
enthusiasm |
enthusiasm |
|
ζῆλος |
zeal |
zeal |
|
ἦθος |
character |
ethos |
|
θεός |
god |
theology |
|
ἱστορίᾱ |
investigation |
history |
|
καρδίᾱ |
heart |
cardiac |
|
λόγος |
word |
logic |
|
μετᾰφορά ( ᾱ ) |
metaphor |
metaphor |
|
ναῦς |
ship |
nautical |
|
ξένος |
foreign |
xenophobia |
|
ὀφθαλμός |
eye |
ophthalmology |
|
πᾰτήρ |
father |
paternity |
|
ῥινόκερος |
nose-horn |
rhinoceros |
|
σοφός |
wise |
philosophy |
|
τύρᾰννο s |
tyrant |
tyrant |
|
ὕβρῐς |
insolence |
hubris |
|
φόβος |
fear |
phobia |
|
χρόνος |
time |
chronology |
|
ψεῦδος |
falsity |
pseudonym |
|
ὥρᾱ |
hour |
hour |
To hear the words pronounced, follow the link:
More Pronunciation Practice . 5
Herodotos of Halikarnessos (Halicarnassus), Ἡρόδοτος ὁ Ἁλικαρνησσέ ος c. 484–425 BCE. Herodotos was an ancient Greek historian who hailed from Halikarnessos, a Greek city founded by the Dorians, ruled by a monarchy, and part of the Persian empire until conquered by Alexander the Great. Credited with inventing the discipline of history, Herodotos wrote in a mixed Ionic dialect. To learn more about this dialect Herodotos, see Appendix XI, Herodotos’ Mixed Dialect.
Module 1 Practice Reading Aloud. Practice reading aloud the beginning of Herodotos’ Histories , paying attention to the sound each syllable makes.
Ἡροδότου Ἁλικαρνησσέος ἱστορίης ἀπόδεξις ἥδε , ὡς μήτε τὰ γεν όμενα ἐξ ἀνθρώπων τῷ χρόνῳ ἐξίτηλα γένηται , μήτε ἔργα μεγάλα τε καὶ θωμαστά , τὰ μὲν Ἕλλησι τὰ δὲ βαρβ άροισι ἀποδεχθέντα , ἀκλεᾶ γένηται , τά τε ἄλλα καὶ δι᾽ ἣν α ἰτίην ἐπολέμησαν ἀλλήλοισι .
Translation
This work of research belongs to Herodotos of Halikarnessos. So that humankind’s achievements do not become forgotten in time and so that the great and wondrous works of barbarians and Greeks do not perish unsung, I have investigated a variety of things, including why they fought one another.
To hear me read, followed by Stefan Hagel’s expert reading with a pitch accent, follow the link below:
1 For detailed information on the invention of the alphabet, see Roger D. Woodard, ‘Phoinikēia Grammata: An Alphabet for the Greek Language’, in A Companion to the Ancient Greek Language, ed. by Egbert J. Bakker (Malden: Blackwell, 2010), pp. 25–46.