27.4: Quasars as Probes of Evolution in the Universe
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Trace the rise and fall of quasars over cosmic time
- Describe some of the ways in which galaxies and black holes influence each other’s growth
- Describe some ways the first black holes may have formed
- Explain why some black holes are not producing quasar emission but rather are quiescent
The quasars’ brilliance and large distance make them ideal probes of the far reaches of the universe and its remote past. Recall that when first introducing quasars, we mentioned that they generally tend to be far away. When we see extremely distant objects, we are seeing them as they were long ago. Radiation from a quasar 8 billion light-years away is telling us what that quasar and its environment were like 8 billion years ago, much closer to the time that the galaxy that surrounds it first formed. Astronomers have now detected light emitted from quasars that were already formed only a few hundred million years after the universe began its expansion 13.8 billion years ago. Thus, they give us a remarkable opportunity to learn about the time when large structures were first assembling in the cosmos.
The Evolution of Quasars
Quasars provide compelling evidence that we live in an evolving universe—one that changes with time. They tell us that astronomers living billions of years ago would have seen a universe that is very different from the universe of today. Counts of the number of quasars at different redshifts (and thus at different times in the evolution of the universe) show us how dramatic these changes are (Figure 27.14). We now know that the number of quasars was greatest at the time when the universe was only 20% of its present age.
As you can see, the drop-off in the numbers of quasars as time gets nearer to the present day is quite abrupt. Observations also show that the emission from the accretion disks around the most massive black holes peaks early and then fades. The most powerful quasars are seen only at early times. In order to explain this result, we make use of our model of the energy source of the quasars—namely that quasars are black holes with enough fuel to make a brilliant accretion disk right around them.
The fact that there were more quasars long ago (far away) than there are today (nearby) could be explained if there was more material available to be accreted by black holes early in the history of the universe. You might say that the quasars were more active when their black holes had fuel for their “energy-producing engines.” If that fuel was mostly consumed in the first few billion years after the universe began its expansion, then later in its life, a “hungry” black hole would have very little left with which to light up the galaxy’s central regions.
In other words, if matter in the accretion disk is continually being depleted by falling into the black hole or being blown out from the galaxy in the form of jets, then a quasar can continue to radiate only as long as new gas is available to replenish the accretion disk.
In fact, there was more gas around to be accreted early in the history of the universe. Back then, most gas had not yet collapsed to form stars, so there was more fuel available for both the feeding of black holes and the forming of new stars. Much of that fuel was subsequently consumed in the formation of stars during the first few billion years after the universe began its expansion.  As we see from Figure 27.14, both star formation and black hole growth peaked together when the universe was about 2 billion years old. Ever since, both have been in sharp decline. We are late to the party of the galaxies and have missed some of the early excitement.
Observations of nearer galaxies (seen later in time) indicate that there is another source of fuel for the central black holes—the collision of galaxies. If two galaxies of similar mass collide and merge, or if a smaller galaxy is pulled into a larger one, then gas and dust from one may come close enough to the black hole in the other to be devoured by it and so provide the necessary fuel. Astronomers have found that collisions were also much more common early in the history of the universe than they are today. There were more small galaxies in those early times because over time, as we shall see (in The Evolution and Distribution of Galaxies), small galaxies tend to combine into larger ones. Again, this means that we would expect to see more quasars long ago (far away) than we do today (nearby)—as we in fact do.
 It looked as though the mass of the central black hole depended on the mass of the galaxy. The black holes in galaxies always seem to be just 1/200 the mass of the galaxy they live in. This result is shown schematically in Figure 27.15, and some of the observations are plotted in Figure 27.16.
 But why does this correlation exist? Unfortunately, astronomers do not yet know the answer to this question. We do know, however, that the black hole can influence the rate of star formation in the galaxy, and that the properties of the surrounding galaxy can influence how fast the black hole grows. Let’s see how these processes work.
How a Galaxy Can Influence a Black Hole in Its Center
Let’s look first at how the surrounding galaxy might influence the growth and size of the black hole. Without large quantities of fresh “food,” the surroundings of black holes glow only weakly as bits of local material spiral inward toward the black hole.  Where does this “food” for the black hole come from originally and how might it be replenished? The jury is still out, but the options are pretty clear.
One obvious source of fuel for the black hole is matter from the host galaxy itself. Galaxies start out with large amounts of interstellar gas and dust, and at least some of this interstellar matter is gradually converted into stars as the galaxy evolves. On the other hand, as stars go through their lives and die, they lose mass all the time into the space between them, thereby returning some of the gas and dust to the interstellar medium. We expect to find more gas and dust in the central regions early in a galaxy’s life than later on, when much of it has been converted into stars. Any of the interstellar matter that ventures too close to the black hole may be accreted by it. This means that we would expect that the number and luminosity of quasars powered in this way would decline with time. And as we have seen, that is just what we find.
Today both elliptical galaxies and the nuclear bulges of spiral galaxies have very little raw material left to serve as a source of fuel for the black hole. And most of the giant black holes in nearby galaxies, including the one in our own Milky Way, are now dark and relatively quiet—mere shadows of their former selves. So that fits with our observations.
We should note that even if you have a quiescent supermassive black hole, a star in the area could occasionally get close to it. Then the powerful tidal forces of the black hole can pull the whole star apart into a stream of gas. This stream quickly forms an accretion disk that gives off energy in the normal way and makes the black hole region into a temporary quasar. However, the material will fall into the black hole after only a few weeks or months. The black hole then goes back into its lurking, quiescent state, until another victim wanders by.
This sort of “cannibal” event happens only once every 100,000 years or so in a typical galaxy. But we can monitor millions of galaxies in the sky, so a few of these “ tidal disruption event s” are found each year (Figure 27.17). However, these individual events, dramatic as they are, are too rare to account for the huge masses of the central black holes.
Another source of fuel for the black hole is the collision of its host galaxy with another galaxy. Some of the brightest galaxies turn out, when a detailed picture is taken, to be pairs of colliding galaxies. And most of them have quasars inside them, not easily visible to us because they are buried by enormous amounts of dust and gas.
A collision between two cars creates quite a mess, pushing parts out of their regular place. In the same way, if two galaxies collide and merge, then gas and dust (though not so much the stars) can get pushed out of their regular orbits. Some may veer close enough to the black hole in one galaxy or the other to be devoured by it and so provide the necessary fuel to power a quasar. As we saw, galaxy collisions and mergers happened most frequently when the universe was young and probably help account for the fact that quasars were most common when the universe was only about 20% of its current age.
Collisions in today’s universe are less frequent, but they do happen. Once a galaxy reaches the size of the Milky Way, most of the galaxies it merges with will be much smaller galaxies— dwarf galaxies (see the chapter on Galaxies). These don’t disrupt the big galaxy much, but they can supply some additional gas to its black hole.
By the way, if two galaxies, each of which contains a black hole, collide, then the two black holes may merge and form an even larger black hole (Figure 27.18). In this process they will emit a burst of gravitational waves. One of the main goals of the European Space Agency’s planned LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission is to detect the gravitational wave signals from the merging of supermassive black holes.
How Does the Black Hole Influence the Formation of Stars in the Galaxy?
We have seen that the material in galaxies can influence the growth of the black hole . The black hole in turn can also influence the galaxy in which it resides. It can do so in three ways: through its jets, through winds of particles that manage to stream away from the accretion disk, and through radiation from the accretion disk. As they stream away from the black hole, all three can either promote star formation by compressing the surrounding gas and dust—or instead suppress star formation by heating the surrounding gas and shredding molecular clouds, thereby inhibiting or preventing star formation. The outflowing energy can even be enough to halt the accretion of new material and starve the black hole of fuel. Astronomers are still trying to evaluate the relative importance of these effects in determining the overall evolution of galactic bulges and the rates of star formation.
In summary, we have seen how galaxies and supermassive black holes can each influence the evolution of the other: the galaxy supplies fuel to the black hole, and the quasar can either support or suppress star formation. The balance of these processes probably helps account for the correlation between black hole and bulge masses, but there are as yet no theories that explain quantitatively and in detail why the correlation between black hole and bulge masses is as tight as it is or why the black hole mass is always about 1/200 times the mass of the bulge.
The Birth of Black Holes and Galaxies
While the connection between quasars and galaxies is increasingly clear, the biggest puzzle of all—namely, how the supermassive black hole s in galaxies got started—remains unsolved. Observations show that they existed when the universe was very young. One dramatic example is the discovery of a quasar that was already shining when the universe was only 700 million years old.  A related problem is that in order to eventually build black holes containing more than 2 billion solar masses, it is necessary to have giant “seed” black holes with masses at least 2000 times the mass of the Sun—and they must somehow have been created shortly after the expansion of the universe began.
Astronomers are now working actively to develop models for how these seed black holes might have formed. Theories suggest that galaxies formed from collapsing clouds of dark matter and gas. Some of the gas formed stars, but perhaps some of the gas settled to the center where it became so concentrated that it formed a black hole. If this happened, the black hole could form right away—although this requires that the gas should not be rotating very much initially.
A more likely scenario is that the gas will have some angular momentum (rotation) that will prevent direct collapse to a black hole. In that case, the very first generation of stars will form, and some of them, according to calculations, will have masses hundreds of times that of the Sun. When these stars finish burning hydrogen, just a few million years later, the supernovae they end with will create black holes a hundred or so times the mass of the Sun. These can then merge with others or accrete the rich gas supply available at these early times.
The challenge is growing these smaller black holes quickly enough to make the much larger black holes we see a few hundred million years later. It turns out to be difficult because there are limits on how fast they can accrete matter. These should make sense to you from what we discussed earlier in the chapter. If the rate of accretion becomes too high, then the energy streaming outward from the black hole’s accretion disk will become so strong as to blow away the infalling matter.
What if, instead, a collapsing gas cloud doesn’t form a black hole directly or break up and form a group of regular stars, but stays together and makes one fairly massive star embedded within a dense cluster of thousands of lower mass stars and large quantities of dense gas? The massive star will have a short lifetime and will soon collapse to become a black hole. It can then begin to attract the dense gas surrounding it. But calculations show that the gravitational attraction of the many nearby stars will cause the black hole to zigzag randomly within the cluster and will prevent the formation of an accretion disk. If there is no accretion disk, then matter can fall freely into the black hole from all directions. Calculations suggest that under these conditions, a black hole even as small as 10 times the mass of the Sun could grow to more than 10 billion times the mass of the Sun by the time the universe is a billion years old.
Scientists are exploring other ideas for how to form the seeds of supermassive black hole s, and this remains a very active field of research. Whatever mechanism caused the rapid formation of these supermassive black holes, they do give us a way to observe the youthful universe when it was only about five percent as old as it is now.
Take a look at some new results from the Chandra X-ray Observatory about the formation of supermassive black holes in the early universe.


26.3: Wood Carving in Oceania
New Guinean Wood Carvings
With its diverse cultural heritage, the island of New Guinea holds some of the most striking art in all of Oceania.
Describe the ancient stone figures, famous wood carvings, and the work of contemporary artists of New Guinea
Key Points
- The earliest examples of art in New Guinea are thought to have appeared around 1500 BCE in the form of early Oceanic rock sculptures, found mainly in the highlands.
- The region is most famously known today for its elaborate wood carvings, including sculptures, masks, canoes, drums, and storyboards.
- The Asmat, an ethnic group of New Guinea, are known for their elaborate wood carvings in the form of bisj poles, which are designed to honor ancestors.The latter half of the 19th century saw a decline of some traditional art forms as westernization began taking its toll on the area.
- However, the 20th and 21st centuries have seen a comeback in traditional New Guinean art and a burgeoning movement of contemporary artists such as Mathias Kauage.
Key Terms
- highlands : A mountainous or hilly section of a country.
- oceanic art : The artistic traditions of the people indigenous to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, including Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
- headhunting : The practice of taking and preserving a person’s head after killing the person.
Overview: Art in New Guinea
New Guinean art is many-sided and complex. The sheer diversity of cultural groups existing in the region have resulted in many unique styles of cultural expression, from art and architecture to music and weaponry.
Ancient Sculptures
Traditional art of New Guinea falls under the greater classification of Oceanic art —art made by the native peoples of the Pacific Islands and Australia. The earliest examples of art in New Guinea are thought to have appeared around 1500 BCE in the form of early Oceanic sculptures. These sculptures, found throughout the island but mostly in the mountainous highlands, first appeared as stone figures that took the shape of mortars, pestles, or freestanding figures. Imagery including birds, human heads, or geometric patterns were often carved onto the tops of pestles or mortars or into the freestanding figures. While the original significance of these pieces is unknown, they may have been used in the context of rituals.
Wood Carvings
The region of New Guinea is perhaps most famously known for its tradition in wood carvings, which are especially prevalent along the Sepik River of Papau New Guinea (an Oceanian country that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia). Elaborate carvings often took the form of sculptures, masks, canoes, drums, and storyboards, many of which are in overseas museums today.
The Bisj Poles of the Asmat
The Asmat are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the Papua province. They have one of the most well-known woodcarving traditions in the Pacific, and their art is sought by collectors worldwide. Asmat art consists of elaborate stylized wood carvings, such as the bisj pole, that are designed to honor ancestors.
A bisj pole is a ritual artifact that can be erected as an act of revenge, to pay homage to the ancestors, to calm the spirits of the deceased, and to bring harmony and spiritual strength to the community. Carved out of a single piece of a wild nutmeg tree, bisj poles can reach heights of up to 25 feet. Their carvings depict human figures standing on top of each other, as well as animal figures and carvings in the shape of a canoe prow. Bisj poles are carved by Asmat religious carvers (known as wow-ipits ) after a member of their tribe or community had been killed by an enemy tribe. The Asmat believed that if a member of the community had been killed, his spirit would linger in the village and cause disharmony. Bisj poles were erected in order to satisfy these spirits and send them to the afterlife (known as Safan ) across the sea.
Many rituals involved the bisj poles, including dancing, masquerading, singing, and headhunting —all performed by men. Bisj poles often had a receptacle at the base that was meant to hold the heads of enemies taken on headhunting missions. Canoe prow symbols represented a metaphorical boat that would take the deceased spirits away to the afterlife; the human figures would represent deceased ancestors. Although the practice of headhunting ended in the Asmat region in the 1970s, the poles are still used in rituals today.
Development of Art Over Time
New Guinean artistic tradition continued even with increasing trade and interaction with European explorers through the 17th and 18th centuries. The latter half of the 19th century saw a decline of some traditional art forms as westernization began taking its toll on the area. In the 20th century, however, New Guinean and other Oceanic art began making a comeback.
The first wave of contemporary New Guinean artists included Mathias Kauage,Timothy Akis, Jakupa Ako, and Joe Nalo. Kauage, whose work included drawing, painting, and woodcuts, won Australia’s Blake Prize for religious art; four of his works are in the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art, and he had a solo show in 2005 at the Horniman Museum entitled “Kauage’s Visions: Art from Papua New Guinea.” Other noted Papua New Guinean visual artists include Larry Santana, Martin Morububuna, and Heso Kiwi.
Malagan Carvings
New Ireland, a large island in Melanesia, is most known for its elaborate wooden carvings used in traditional rituals and ceremonies.
Describe the malagan carvings, tatanua masks, and kulap sculptures of New Ireland
Key Points
- New Ireland has a rich cultural history heavily influenced by Oceanic art.
- The most well-known art from this region includes malagan carvings, tatanua masks, and kulap sculptures used in traditional ceremonies, such as the funerary malagan ritual.
- Wooden malagan carvings were used during the rituals they are named after to honor the deceased; they are now world-famous and held in museums around the world.
- Tatanua masks, carved from wood and elaborately painted and decorated, are often worn by ceremonial dancers during malagan rituals.
- Kulap are small funerary sculptures believed to contain the soul of the deceased.
Key Terms
- Oceanic art : The artistic traditions of the people indigenous to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, including Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
- funerary : Of or relating to a ceremony honoring the deceased.
Overview: New Ireland
New Ireland, a large island in Melanesia lying northeast of the island of New Britain, has a rich cultural history in the Oceanic arts. Art from this region was often highly decorative, portraying elaborate forms and often tied to themes of ancestry, hunting, or spiritual ceremonies. Some of the most well-known artworks of New Ireland are malagan carvings, tatanua masks, and kulap sculptures.
Malagan Carvings
Malagan ceremonies are the most large-scale and famous of the many events that take place within the region of New Ireland. These ceremonies are large, intricate cultural events that are often funerary in nature, held by the family of the deceased to communicate with deities and to honor those that have passed. They take place irregularly and typically take several days, requiring months or years of preparation. While a malagan ceremony is always held in the name of one or more people who have died in recent years, it is not at all a mortuary rite; many other interactions take place within the overall event, including announcements, repayment of debts, recognition of obligations, resolution of disputes, and many other customary activities.
Statues of the Deceased
Malagan carvings, now world-famous, are the wooden carvings that are created for use in these ceremonies to honor the deceased. Mannequins or statues representing the soul of the deceased are carved by local peoples to celebrate the dead person’s characteristics. The deceased are remembered through the various depictions that are carved on the statues, each of which has a symbolic meaning. These carvings are elaborated with anthropomorphic symbols, which are thought to represent the link between the people of New Ireland, their creation, and the spiritual world to which they eventually pass on.
Tatanua Masks
A tatanua is a type of traditional wooden mask worn by ceremonial dancers during the malagan ritual. These masks are normally carved from lime wood, decorated with sugar cane fibers and wool or other animal hair, and painted using chalk and natural dyes. The type with a high headdress is created using a cane framework that was then covered in bark, although later imported fabric was used as the covering. Besides the fabric, some masks also included imported optical brighteners, which made some nominally white areas slightly blue.
The masks are frequently identifiable by the pierced ear lobes and prominent mouth, which is normally carved as if the mouth is open. The masks can also be identified by the asymmetrical hair design: the mask is left bare of hair on one side to mimic how a New Ireland man would shave his head to show that he was in mourning.
Traditionally, these ceremonial carvings were burnt at the conclusion of the event; however, during the colonial era, significant quantities of malagan statues and masks were collected by European administrators and can now be seen in museums all over Europe. In modern times most are now retained, as the carving tradition is known only by a few. Contemporary masters of malagan form include Ben Sisia of Libba Village (northern New Ireland) and Edward Salle of Lava Village (Tatau, Tabar Islands, New Ireland). Many malagan carvings are in museums around the world today.
Kulap Sculptures
Kulap are small funerary sculptures produced in the Punam region of southern New Ireland. They were believed to contain the soul of the deceased person whom they were meant to represent, and they would be ritually smashed once the period of mourning was over. In more recent years, some have been sold in their intact forms to Westerners, particularly to German administrators. Kulap are carved from chalk limestone native to the region, and they are often painted; they are expressly produced by artisans from the Rossel Mountains.
The chalk limestone used for carving kulap is found in the river beds of the hilly Punam region of southern New Ireland. Carved kulap may sometimes be painted, and some of the figures are carved in stylized forms and painted in pure white color. The figurines generally depict the deceased in a sitting posture. Kulap were kept in small enclosures, and only specific people were allowed to handle such figures, as it was believed that the soul of the dead should be temporarily confined to these figures to prevent them from harming the village environment.
Wood Carving in the Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands boast a rich history of traditional art, including elaborate wood carvings, sculptures, textiles, and ornaments.
Differentiate between the art traditionally produced by men and women in the Caroline Islands
Key Points
- Belonging to the region of Micronesia, the Caroline Islands have a rich history of Oceanic art.
- Among the most prominent works of the region is the now-ruined, megalithic, floating city of Nan Madol, which is often called the “Venice of the Pacific.”
- Artwork in these communities was often gendered: men created elaborate wood carvings and sculptures, while women created textiles and ornaments.
- Dilukai are wooden figures of young women carved over the doorways of chiefs’ houses in the Palauan archipelago to protect the villagers’ health and crops and ward off evil spirits.
- While colonization threatened historical artistic traditions, independence from colonial powers has since allowed for a renewed interest in traditional arts, and a notable movement of contemporary art has begun to emerge in the region.
Key Terms
- Oceanic art : The artistic traditions of the people indigenous to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, including Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
- archipelago : A group of islands.
- Caroline minuscule : A script developed as a calligraphic standard in Europe so that the Latin alphabet could be easily recognized by the literate class from one region to another.
Overview: The Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Technically belonging to the region of Micronesia, these islands have a rich history of Oceanic art.
Nan Madol
Among the most prominent works of the region is the megalithic floating city of Nan Madol, which today lies in ruin off the eastern shore of the island of Pohnpei. Construction on the city started in 1200 CE and was still underway when European invaders began to arrive around the year 1600. Often called the “Venice of the Pacific,” Nan Madol was constructed in a lagoon and consists of a series of small, artificial islands linked by a network of canals.
Nan Madol was the ceremonial and political seat of the Saudeleur Dynasty, which united Pohnpei’s estimated 25,000 people until about 1628. Set apart between the main island of Pohnpei and Temwen Island, it was a scene of human activity as early as the first or second century CE. By the 8th or 9th century, islet construction had started, but the distinctive megalithic architecture was probably not begun until the 12th or early 13th century. Around the turn of the 19th century, the city underwent a decline, and it was abandoned altogether by the 1820s.
Today Nan Madol forms an archaeological district covering more than 18 km² and includes the stone architecture built up on a coral reef flat along the shore of Temwen Island, several other artificial islets, and the adjacent Pohnpei main island coastline. The site core with its stone walls encloses an area approximately 1.5 km long by 0.5 km wide and contains nearly 100 artificial islets—stone and coral fill platforms—bordered by tidal canals. Many islets were once occupied by the dwellings of priests, while some islets served a special purpose such as food preparation, canoe construction on Dapahu, or coconut oil preparation on Peinering. High walls surrounding tombs are located on Peinkitel, Karian, and Lemenkou, but the most prominent is the royal mortuary islet of Nandauwas, where walls 18–25 feet high surround a central tomb enclosure within the main courtyard.
Art of the Islands
During the 19th century, the Caroline Islands were divided up among the colonial powers, but art continued to thrive. This work was typically gendered in the communities. Men in the Caroline Islands created elaborate wood carvings, including stylized bowls, canoe ornaments, sculptured figures, ceremonial vessels, and richly decorated ceremonial houses. Women created textiles, ornaments, bracelets, and headbands. Stylistically, this art is streamlined with a practical simplicity but typically finished with a high standard of quality.
Dilukai
Dilukai are wooden figures of young women carved over the doorways of chiefs’ houses (known as bai ) in the Palauan archipelago. They are typically shown with legs splayed, revealing a large, black, triangular pubic area with the hands resting on the thighs. These female figures were carved to protect the villagers’ health and crops and ward off evil spirits. They were traditionally created by ritual specialists according to strict rules, which, if broken, would result in the deaths of the carver and the chief. Female figures presenting their vulva can be found in many cultures, symbolizing fertility and (spiritual) rebirth and protecting from evil spirits. When Christian missionaries arrived in the region, they disapproved of the Dilukai and so changed the context, claiming that their purpose was to shame an immoral woman.
The Effects of Colonialism
During the first half of the 20th century, Western and Japanese imperialism began to affect the region. A number of historical artistic traditions simply ceased to be practiced, while others were maintained. By the second half of the century, however, when the Caroline Islands secured their independence from colonial forces, there was a resurgence of interest in traditional arts, and a new generation of artists began to learn these forms. Toward the end of the 20th century, a notable, regional movement of contemporary art had emerged throughout Micronesia, to which artists from the Caroline Islands contributed.
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- Nan Madol. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Nan_Madol. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Oceanic art. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_art. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Caroline Islands. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Islands. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Caroline minuscule. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_minuscule. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- archipelago. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en.wiktionary.org/wiki/archipelago. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- oceanic art. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/oceanic%20art. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Dilukai. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilukai. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Page not found | LACMA Collections. Provided by : Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Located at : collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=hiersearch;dtype=i;id=502097. License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright
- IMG 2777u201387 short. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IMG_2777%E2%80%9387_short.JPG. License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright
- 800px-Bisjpaal1.JPG. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisj_pole#/media/File:Bisjpaal1.JPG. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- 330px-Malanggan-Masken_Berlin-Dahlem.jpg. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Malagan#/media/File:Malanggan-Masken_Berlin-Dahlem.jpg. License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright
- 375px-Funerary_Figure_%28kulap%29.jpg. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Kulap#/media/File:Funerary_Figure_(kulap).jpg. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Malagan carvings. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Malagan_carvings.jpg. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Tatanua mask. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatanua_mask. License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright
- 1024px-Nan_Madol_5.jpg. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Nan_Madol#/media/File:Nan_Madol_5.jpg. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Dilukai from the Caroline Islands, Belau (Palau), 19th-early 20th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Provided by : Wikimedia. Located at : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dilukai_from_the_Caroline_Islands,_Belau_(Palau),_19th-early_20th_century,_Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art.jpg. License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright


17.3: Analyzing Population Health Data and Identifying Patterns
By the end of this section, you should be able to:
- Identify health patterns across populations by comparing data at the local, regional, tribal, and national levels to benchmarks.
- Analyze behavioral, environmental, and other factors influencing health.
- Synthesize assessment findings to prioritize education/health promotion/disease prevention needs, resources, and capacity.
The second stage of the nursing process for individual clients, diagnosis, is similar to community diagnosis. Members of the CHA team organize, explore, and synthesize data gathered in the assessment phase. They compare CHA data to previous health assessments and to data from adjacent counties and communities as well as state and national data to determine if benchmarks have been met or if efforts have fallen short. The CHA team reviews the data for specific community health problems and other factors influencing health, areas where the community is doing well, and identified resources. The steps of data analysis of community health data are as follows:
- Gather collected data into one place.
- Assess collected data for completeness.
- Identify and generate missing data.
- Synthesize data and identify themes.
- Identify community needs and problems.
- Identify community strengths and resources.
Steps 1 to 3 involve organization and analysis of data to identify health patterns and factors that influence health. The team compares local data to benchmarks at local, regional, tribal, and national levels. Steps 4 to 6 synthesize assessment findings to prioritize education, health promotion, and disease prevention needs, resources, and capacity.
Analyze Data to Identify Health Patterns and Factors That Influence Health
First, the CHA team completes a statistical analysis of survey data and other quantitative information. Most often, the data are presented in frequencies, percentages, and/or central tendencies. Primary and secondary data are organized by topic or health pattern to assess completeness and determine if data are missing. If data appear to be missing, the team collects additional information. For example, if input from an at-risk population is missing, the team may hold a focus group to gather the missing data.
Morbidity and mortality data collected in the current assessment are presented along with previous assessment, state, and U.S. data, usually in table format. The team may also include other local municipality or county data. If data are available, the specific population at risk is noted. Specific populations at risk may be designated according to age, income level, gender, race/ethnicity, and/or geographical location. These data are used to benchmark state and federal data and evidence-based health standards. CHA teams may use the State Health Assessment/State Health Improvement Plan (refer to Table 17.5) to benchmark against the state. Healthy People 2030 also contains evidence-based federal standards that can be used for benchmarking.
Next, the team reports on factors influencing health in written or table format. Factors include health care access, health behaviors, and environmental and social conditions such as economic stability, education, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context. The report may also include data from other localities, the state, and the United States for benchmarking purposes. Including the County Health Rankings Model described in Social Determinants Affecting Health Outcomes ensures SDOH and other factors that influence health outcomes are part of the CHA and analysis.
By this point, the CHA team should have a comprehensive picture of the occurrence and distribution of health patterns and health factors and be able to answer the following questions:
- What is the health concern (or health factor), and to what extent is it occurring?
- Who is impacted by the health concern (or health factor)? Is one aggregate affected more than others?
- Where is the health concern (or health factor) most prevalent?
- When, if applicable, is the health concern (or health factor) occurring?
Synthesize Assessment Findings to Prioritize Needs
Synthesis aims to critically analyze each health concern to identify why and how the problem is occurring. This step moves past identifying and organizing the data and links factors influencing health to each health concern. The MAPP framework discussed previously offers tools to assist synthesis (NACCHO, 2023). The MAPP strategic issues identification worksheet guides the time to identify an issue and provides a rationale on why it is an issue and the consequences of not addressing it. The strategic issues relationship diagram illustrates how information from different assessments relates to the identified issue.
Common health needs and themes emerge, and the team creates a problem list of no more than 12 issues based on a synthesis of primary and secondary community assessment data (NACCHO, 2023). This can be managed by merging similar topics into one theme. Each problem should include the aggregate most impacted, community needs or gaps, available community resources, and capacity for change. The problem list is prioritized as part of the next phase of the community nursing process.


What Would Shakespeare Say?
Figure 11.2: (Credit: Sourced originally from Helmolt, H.F., ed. History of the World. Dodd, Mead and Company, 1902 / Perry-Castañeda Library, University of Texas at Austin / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain).
In our classroom, everyone is the same…
Consider a classroom containing 25 college students and their instructor. In this particular class, all of the students and the instructor share the same racial group—white. In fact, everyone in the class is a white American from the Midwest.
The instructor is leading the class through reading a scene from William Shakespeare’s drama
Romeo and Juliet
. As students read their parts, each one is thinking carefully about the role he or she has been given.
One of the male students wonders what it would be like to read the part of Juliet; after all, men originally played the part in Shakespeare’s day. The young woman reading Juliet wonders if anyone would object to her taking the role if they knew she was a lesbian. What would it be like, she wonders, if Romeo, her love interest, were also played by a woman? One reader strongly identifies as German American, but he is reading the part of an Italian. Another student has a grandmother who is African American, but he looks like every other white student in the room. No one recognizes his mixed-race heritage.
After the students finish reading the scene, the instructor announces, “In our classroom, everyone is the same, but these days when Shakespeare is staged, there is a tendency for nontraditional casting. Romeo could be black, Juliet could be Latina, Lady Montague could be Asian. Do you think that kind of casting would disrupt the experience of seeing the play?”
In this case, the instructor makes the assumption that because everyone in the class
looks
the same, they
are
the same. What did the instructor miss about the potential for diversity in his classroom? Have you ever made a similar mistake?
Diversity is more than what we can recognize from external clues such as race and gender. Diversity includes many unseen aspects of identity, like sexual orientation, political point of view, veteran status, and many other aspects that you may have not considered. To be inclusive and civil within your community, it is essential that you avoid making assumptions about how other people define or identify themselves.
In this chapter we will discover that each person is more than the sum of surface clues presented to the world. Personal experience, social and family history, public policy, and even geography play a role in how diversity is constructed. We’ll also explore elements of civility and fairness within the college community.
One important objective of civility is to become culturally competent. Culturally competent people understand the complexity of their own personal identity, values, and culture. In addition, they respect the personal identities and values of others who may not share their identity and values. Further, culturally competent people remain open-minded when confronted with new cultural experiences. They learn to relate to and respect difference; they look beyond the obvious and learn as much as they can about what makes each person different and appreciated.
These concepts tie closely to understanding communication with a focus on Emotional Intelligence and Overcoming Barriers to Communication.
WHAT STUDENTS SAY
-
Do you think the diversity of your school’s student body is reflected in course offerings and campus activities?
-
Yes
-
Somewhat
-
No
-
How comfortable are you when discussing issues of race, sexuality, religion, and other aspects of civility?
-
Extremely comfortable
-
Somewhat comfortable
-
Somewhat uncomfortable
-
Extremely uncomfortable
-
Do you generally feel welcomed and included on campus?
-
Yes
-
No
-
It varies significantly by class or environment.
You can also take the anonymous
What Students Say surveys(opens in new window)
to add your voice to this textbook. Your responses will be included in updates.
Students offered their views on these questions, and the results are displayed in the graphs below.
Do you think the diversity of your school’s student body is reflected in course offerings and campus activities?
Figure 11.3
How comfortable are you when discussing issues of race, sexuality, religion, and other aspects of civility?
Figure 11.4
Do you generally feel welcomed and included on campus?
Figure 11.5
Why Diversity Matters
The United States of America is viewed the world over as a leader in democracy and democratic ideals. Our nation, young by most standards, continues to evolve to make the freedoms and opportunities available to all. Where the benefits of citizenship have been imperfect, discord over issues related to civil rights and inclusion have often been at the center of the conflict.
To understand the importance of civility and civil engagement, it is necessary to acknowledge our country’s history. The United States is a country born out of protest. Colonists protesting what they felt were unfair taxes under King George III was at the foundation of the Revolutionary War. Over time, many groups have been given their civil liberties and equal access to all that our country has to offer through that same spirit of protest and petition.
Figure 11.6: (Credit: Carl Campbell / Flickr / Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC-BY 2.0))
The United States is often described as a “melting pot,” a rich mixture made up of people of many colors, religions, abilities, etc. working together to make one great big stew. That is the image generations of Americans grew up learning, and it is a true one. The United States is a nation of immigrants, and cultural influences from around the world have added to its strength.
Historically, however, not all contributions and voices have been acknowledged equally or adequately. Some groups have had to struggle to have their contributions acknowledged, be treated fairly, and be allowed full participation in the civic life of the country. Entire populations of people have been oppressed as a part of the nation’s history, something important for Americans to confront and acknowledge. For example, in what is known as the Trail of Tears, the U.S. government forcibly removed Native Americans from their homelands and made them walk to reservations; some had to travel more than 1,000 miles, and over 10,000 died on the journey. Further, in an act of forced assimilation, Native American children were taken from their families and placed in schools where they were not allowed to practice cultural traditions or speak their Native languages. This practice continued as late as the 1970s. As a result, many Native American languages have been lost or are at risk of being lost.
The slavery of Africans occurred in America for close to 250 years. Much of the wealth in the United States during that time came directly from the labor of enslaved people; however, the enslaved people themselves did not benefit financially. During World War II, Japanese Americans were placed into internment camps and considered a danger to our country because our nation was at war with Japan.
For many years, all women and minority men were traditionally left out of public discourse and denied participation in government, industry, and even cultural institutions such as sports. For example, the United States Supreme Court was founded in 1789; however, the court’s first female justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, was not appointed until 1981, almost 200 years later. Jackie Robinson famously became the first African American major league baseball player in 1947 when he was hired by the Brooklyn Dodgers, although the major leagues were established in 1869, decades earlier. The absence of white women and minorities was not an accident. Their exclusion was based on legal discrimination or unfair treatment.
These are all examples of mistreatment, inequality, and discrimination, and they didn’t end without incredible sacrifice and heroism. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and the equal rights movement for women’s rights in the 1970s are examples of how public protests work to bring attention to discriminatory practices and to create change. Because racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, and other forms of bias and intolerance still exist, civil engagement and protests continue, and policies must be constantly monitored. Many people still work to ensure the gains these communities have made in acquiring the rights of full citizenship are not lost.
Diversity refers to differences in the human experience. As different groups have gained in number and influence, our definition of diversity has evolved to embrace many variables that reflect a multitude of different backgrounds, experiences, and points of view, not just race and gender. Diversity takes into account age, socioeconomic factors, ability (such as sight, hearing, and mobility), ethnicity, veteran status, geography, language, sexual orientation, religion, size, and other factors. At one time or another, each group has had to make petitions to the government for equal treatment under the law and appeals to society for respect. Safeguarding these groups’ hard-won rights and public regard maintains diversity and its two closely related factors,
equit
y and
inclusion.
ACTIVITY
Our rights and protections are often acquired through awareness, effort, and, sometimes, protest. Each one of the following groups has launched protests over discrimination or compromises to their civil rights. Choose three of the groups below and do a quick search on protests or efforts members of the group undertook to secure their rights. To expand your knowledge, choose some with which you are not familiar.
Record the name, time frame, and outcomes of the protest or movements you researched.
The groups are as follows:
-
Veterans
-
Senior citizens
-
Blind or visually impaired people
-
Muslims
-
Christians
-
LGBTQ+ community
-
Hispanic/Latinos
-
People with intellectual disabilities
-
Undocumented immigrants
-
Little people
-
College students
-
Jewish Americans
-
Farm workers
-
Wheelchair users
Diversity in Healthcare
Receiving medical care from a provider who shares a similar cultural background or ethnicity can make patients feel more at ease. Research has shown that a more diverse healthcare workforce is associated with higher-quality patient care. For instance, a 2022
Columbia University study
found that states with greater nurse diversity reported fewer health complications for mothers during childbirth. Patients often feel more comfortable and are more likely to trust healthcare providers who share or understand their cultural backgrounds and experiences. This can lead to more open communication and better patient-provider relationships. Diverse healthcare teams can provide more culturally sensitive care, leading to more accurate diagnoses, better adherence to treatment plans, and overall improved health outcomes. Diverse healthcare teams bring a range of perspectives and experiences, fostering innovation and problem-solving in patient care. This can lead to more comprehensive and effective treatment plans. Patients are more likely to be satisfied with their care when they feel understood and respected, leading to better patient retention and positive health experiences.
Cultural beliefs play a role in the receiving and delivery of healthcare. In countries like the United States, people think diseases happen because of natural scientific reasons. They use medicine to fight germs and advanced technology to find and treat illnesses. In other places, people believe sickness comes from supernatural causes, so they use prayer or spiritual methods to make the powerful forces happy again.
Remember that culture is not limited to religious, racial, or ethnic groups. For example, the Deaf and LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and others) communities have distinct cultures. Internet Citation: Consider Culture: Tool 10. Content last reviewed February 2024. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.
ahrq.gov
[www.ahrq.gov]
The Role of Equity and Inclusion
Equity plays a major part in achieving fairness in a diverse landscape. Equity gives everyone equal access to opportunity and success. For example, you may have seen interpreters for deaf or hard of hearing people in situations where a public official is making an announcement about an impending weather emergency. Providing immediate translation into sign language means that there is no gap between what the public official is saying and when all people receive the information. Simultaneous sign language provides equity.
1
Similarly, many students have learning differences that require accommodations in the classroom. For example, a student with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) might be given more time to complete tests or writing assignments. The extra time granted takes into account that students with ADHD process information differently.
If a student with a learning difference is given more time than other students to complete a test, that is a matter of equity. The student is not being given an advantage; the extra time gives them an equal chance at success.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990) is a federal government policy that addresses equity in the workplace, housing, and public places. The ADA requires “reasonable accommodations” so that people with disabilities have equal access to the same services as people without disabilities. For example, wheelchair lifts on public transportation, automatic doors, entrance ramps, and elevators are examples of accommodations that eliminate barriers of participation for people with certain disabilities.
Without the above accommodations, those with a disability may justly feel like second-class citizens because their needs were not anticipated. Further, they might have to use their own resources to gain equal access to services although their tax dollars contribute to providing that same access and service to other citizens.
Equity levels the playing field so that everyone’s needs are anticipated and everyone has an equal starting point. However, understanding equity is not enough.
Figure 11.7: Equality is a meaningful goal, but it can leave people with unmet needs; equity is more empowering and fair. In equality portion of the graphic, people all sizes and a person who uses a wheelchair are all given the same bicycle, which is unusable for most. In the equity portion, each person gets a bicycle specifically designed for them, enabling them to successfully ride it. Credit: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation / Custom License: “May be Produced with Attribution
2
”)
When equity is properly considered, there is also inclusion.
Inclusion
means that there are a multiplicity of voices, skills, and interests represented in any given situation. Inclusion has played a major role in education, especially in terms of creating inclusion classrooms and inclusive curricula. In an inclusion classroom, students of different skill levels study together. For example, students with and without developmental disabilities study in the same classroom. Such an arrangement eliminates the stigma of the “special education classroom” where students were once segregated. In addition, in inclusion classrooms all students receive support when needed. Students benefit from seeing how others learn. In an inclusive curriculum, a course includes content and perspectives from underrepresented groups. For example, a college course in psychology might include consideration of different contexts such as immigration, incarceration, or unemployment in addition to addressing societal norms.
Inclusion means that these voices of varied background and experience are integrated into discussions, research, and assignments rather than ignored.
Our Country Is Becoming More Diverse
You may have heard the phrase “the browning of America,” meaning it is predicted that today’s racial minorities will, collectively, be the majority of the population in the future. The graph from the Pew Research Center projects that by the year 2065, U.S. demographics will have shifted significantly. In 2019, the white population made up just over 60% of the population. In 2065, the Pew Research Center predicts that whites will be approximately 46% of the population. The majority of Americans will be the non-white majority, 54% Hispanic/Latinos, blacks, and Asians.
Figure 11.8: United States demographics (or statistical characteristics of populations) are changing rapidly. In just over 35 years, the country as a whole will be a “majority minority” nation, with ethnic/racial minorities making up more than half of the population. (Credit: Based on work by the Pew Research Center.)
What does this mean? It could mean that the United States begins accepting Spanish as a mainstream language since the Hispanic/Latino population will be significantly larger. It could mean a changing face for local governments. It could mean that our country will elect its second nonwhite president. Beyond anything specific, the shifting demographics of the United States could mean greater attention is paid to diversity awareness, equity, and inclusion.
ANALYSIS QUESTION
How should the United States prepare for its projected demographic shift? What changes do you suppose will take place as part of the “browning of America”?
Education: Equity for All
Education has been one of the most significant arenas for social change related to our rights as Americans. And the effects of that change have significantly impacted other power dynamics in society. You need look no further than the landmark case
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
(1954) to see how our nation has responded passionately in civil and uncivil ways to appeals for equity and inclusion in public education.
For much of the 20th century, African Americans lived under government-sanctioned separation better known as segregation. Not only were schools segregated, but Jim Crow laws allowed for legal separation in transportation, hospitals, parks, restaurants, theaters, and just about every aspect of public life. These laws enacted that there be “whites only” water fountains and restrooms. Only white people could enter the front door of a restaurant or sit on the main level of a movie theater, while African Americans had to enter through the back door and sit in the balcony. The segregation also included Mexican Americans and Catholics, who were forced to attend separate schools.
Brown v. Board of Education
was a landmark Supreme Court case that challenged the interpretation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The case involved the father of Linda Brown suing the Topeka, Kansas, board of education for denying his daughter the right to attend an all-white school. Oliver Brown maintained that segregation left his black community with inferior schools, a condition counter to the equal protection clause contained in Section I of the 14th Amendment:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
There was widespread heated opposition to desegregated education across the country. Passions were even more severe after
Brown v. Board of Education
was won by the plaintiff on appeal to the United States Supreme Court. In effect, the case changed the power dynamics in America by leveling the playing field for education. No longer were white schools (and their better resources) legally segregated. In principal, there was equity—equal access.
Debates in the courtrooms surrounding
Brown
were passionate but professional. Protests and debate in those communities directly affected by the decision, especially in the South, were intense, violent confrontations that demonstrated the height of incivility. One thing you may notice about uncivil behavior is the difficulty most have looking back on those actions.
Figure 11.9: After the Brown v Board of Education decision, Americans pursued their rights for equal education in other districts. In Arkansas, a group of teenagers, which would come to be known as the Little Rock Nine, were blocked from entering a formerly whites-only school. Facing angry protestors, the state governor, and even the National Guard, the nine students finally took their rightful place in the school after a judge ruled in their favor and President Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne Division to secure the situation. (Credit: Courtesy of the National Archives, sourced from The US Army / Flickr / Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC-BY))
Educational institutions like colleges and school districts are critically important spaces for equity and inclusion, and debates around them remain challenging. Transgender students in America’s schools face discrimination, harrassment, and bullying, which causes nearly 45 percent of LGBTQ+ to feel unsafe becuase of their gender expression and 60 percent of to feel unsafe due to their sexual orientation. Many of these students miss school or experience significant stress, which usually has a negative impact on their grades, participation, and overall success.
3
In essence, this hostility creates inequality. Regardless of individual state or district laws on bathroom use and overall accommodation, federal law protects
all
students from discrimination, especially that based on categories such as gender. But implementation of these federal protections varies, and, in general, many outside the transgender community do not fully unerstand, empathize with, or support transgender rights.
How can the circumstances improve for transgender students? In other societal changes throughout our nation’s history, court decisions, new legislation, protests, and general public opinion combined to right past wrongs and provide justice and protection for mistreated people. For example, in 2015, the Supreme Court upheld the right to same-sex marriage under the 14th Amendment. Just as African Americans publicly debated and protested educational inequality, the gay community used discusion, protest, and debate to sway public and legal opinion. Proponents of gay marriage faced fervent argument against their position based on religion and culture; like other minority groups, they were confronted with name-calling, job insecurity, family division, religious isolation, and physical confrontation. And as has often been the case, success in achieving marriage equality eventually came through the courts.
Legal remedies are significant, but can take a very long time. Before they see success in the courts or legislatures, transgender students in America’s schools will continue to undergo harsh treatment. Their lives and education will remain very difficult until people from outside their community better understand their situation.
Debates: Civility vs. Incivility
Healthy debate is a desirable part of a community. In a healthy debate, people are given room to explain their point of view. In a healthy airing of differences, people on opposing sides of an argument can reach common ground and compromise or even agree to disagree and move on.
However, incivility occurs when people are not
culturally competent
. An individual who is not culturally competent might make negative assumptions about others’ values, lack an open mindset, or be inflexible in thinking. Instead of being tolerant of different points of view, they may try to shut down communication by not listening or by keeping someone with a different point of view from being heard at all. Out of frustration, a person who is uncivil may resort to name-calling or discrediting another person only with the intention of causing confusion and division within a community. Incivility can also propagate violence. Such uncivil reaction to difficult issues is what makes many people avoid certain topics at all costs. Instead of seeking out diverse communities, people retreat to safe spaces where they will not be challenged to hear opposing opinions or have their beliefs contested.
Debates on difficult or divisive topics surrounding diversity, especially those promoting orchestrated change, are often passionate. People on each side may base their positions on deeply held beliefs, family traditions, personal experience, academic expertise, and a desire to orchestrate change. With such a strong foundation, emotions can be intense, and debates can become uncivil.
Even when the disagreement is based on information rather than personal feelings, discussions can quickly turn to arguments. For example, in academic environments, it’s common to find extremely well-informed arguments in direct opposition to each other. Two well-known economics faculty members from your college could debate for hours on financial policies, with each professor’s position backed by data, research, and publications. Each person could feel very strongly that they are right and the other person is wrong. They may even feel that the approach proposed by their opponent would actually do damage to the country or to certain groups of people. But for this debate—whether it occurs over lunch or on an auditorium stage—to remain civil, the participants need to maintain certain standards of behavior.
ACTIVITY
-
Describe a time when you could not reach an agreement with someone on a controversial issue.
-
Did you try to compromise, combining your points of view so that each of you would be partially satisfied?
-
Did either of you shut down communication? Was ending the conversation a good choice? Why or why not?
Civility is a valued practice that takes advantage of cultural and political systems we have in place to work through disagreements while maintaining respect for others’ points of view. Civil behavior allows for a respectful airing of grievances. The benefit of civil discussion is that members of a community can hear different sides of an argument, weigh evidence, and decide for themselves which side to support.
You have probably witnessed or taken part in debates in your courses, at social events, or even at family gatherings. What makes people so passionate about certain issues? First, some may have a personal stake in an issue, such as abortion rights. Convincing other people to share their beliefs may be intended to create a community that will protect their rights. Second, others may have deeply held beliefs based on faith or cultural practices. They argue based on deeply held moral and ethical beliefs. Third, others may be limited in their background knowledge about an issue but are able to speak from a “script” of conventional points of view. They may not want to stray from the script because they do not have enough information to extend an argument.
Rules for Fair Debate
Figure 11.10: You’ll participate in classroom or workplace debate throughout your academic or professional career. Civility is important to productive discussions, and will lead to worthwhile outcomes. (Credit: Creative Sustainability / Flickr / Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC-BY 2.0))
The courtroom and the public square are not the only places where serious debate takes place. Every day we tackle tough decisions that involve other people, some of whom have strong opposing points of view. To be successful in college, you will need to master sound and ethical approaches to argument, whether it be for a mathematical proof or an essay in a composition class.
You probably already know how to be sensitive and thoughtful when giving feedback to a family member or friend. You think about their feelings and the best way to confront your disagreement without attacking them. Of course, sometimes it’s easier to be less sensitive with people who love you no matter what. Still, whether in a classroom, a workplace, or your family dinner table, there are rules for debating that help people with opposing points of view get to the heart of an issue while remaining civil:
-
Avoid direct insults and personal attacks—the quickest way to turn someone away from your discussion is to attack them personally. This is actually a common logical fallacy called ad hominem, which means “to the person,” and it means to attack the person rather than the issue.
-
Avoid generalizations and extreme examples—these are two more logical fallacies called bandwagon, or ad populum, and reduction to absurdity, or argumentum ad absurdum. The first is when you argue that everyone is doing something so it must be right. The second is when you argue that a belief or position would lead to an absurd or extreme outcome.
-
Avoid appealing to emotions rather than facts—it’s easy to get emotional if you’re debating something about which you feel passionate. Someone disagreeing with you can feel like a personal affront. This fallacy, called argument to compassion, appeals to one’s emotions and happens when we mistake feelings for facts. While strong and motivating, our feelings are not great arbiters of the truth.
-
Avoid irrelevant arguments—sometimes it’s easy to change the subject when we’re debating, especially if we feel flustered or like we’re not being heard. Irrelevant conclusion is the fallacy of introducing a topic that may or may not be sound logic but is not about the issue under debate.
-
Avoid appeal to bias—you may not have strong opinions on every topic but, no doubt, you are opinionated about things that matter to you. This strong view can create a bias, or a leaning toward an idea or belief. While there’s nothing wrong with having a strong opinion, you must be mindful to ensure that your bias doesn’t create prejudice.
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Avoid appeal to tradition—just because something worked in the past or was true in the past does not necessarily mean that it is true today. It’s easy to commit this fallacy, as we often default to “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It’s appealing because it seems to be common sense. However, it ignores questions such as whether the existing or old policy truly works as well as it could and if new technology or new ways of thinking can offer an improvement. Old ways can certainly be good ways, but not simply because they are old.
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Avoid making assumptions—often, we think we know enough about a topic or maybe even more than the person talking, so we jump ahead to the outcome. We assume we know what they’re referring to, thinking about, or even imagining, but this is a dangerous practice because it often leads to misunderstandings. In fact, most logical fallacies are the result of assuming.
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Strive for root cause analysis—getting at the root cause of something means to dig deeper and deeper until you discover why a problem or disagreement occurred. Sometimes, the most obvious or immediate cause for a problem is not actually the most significant one. Discovering the root cause can help to resolve the conflict or reveal that there isn’t one at all.
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Avoid obstinacy—in the heat of a debate, it’s easy to dig in your heels and refuse to acknowledge when you’re wrong. Your argument is at stake, and so is your ego. However, it’s important to give credit where it’s due and to say you’re wrong if you are.
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Strive for resolution—while some people like to debate for the sake of debating, in the case of a true conflict, both parties should seek agreement, or at least a truce. One way to do this is to listen more than you speak. Listen, listen, listen: you’ll learn and perhaps make better points of your own if you deeply consider the other point of view.
ANALYSIS QUESTION
Have you ever witnessed incivility in person or an argument in the news? Briefly describe what happened. Why do you think individuals are willing to shut down communication over issues they are passionate about?
Online Civility
The Internet is the watershed innovation of our time. It provides incredible access to information and resources, helping us to connect in ways inconceivable just a few decades ago. But it also presents risks, and these risks seem to be changing and increasing at the same rate as technology itself. Because of our regular access to the Internet, it’s important to create a safe, healthy, and enjoyable online space.
Figure 11.11: Microsoft’s Digital Civility Research survey asked people their opinions on the future of online behavior and communication. While in some cases, the respondents thought circumstances would improve, predictions about the others, such as harassment and bullying, are more bleak. (Credit: Based on work from Microsoft, “Expectations for Digital Civility 2020.”
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In the survey conducted by Microsoft, “nearly 4 in 10 [respondents] feel unwanted online contact (39%), bullying (39%) and unwelcome sexual attention (39%) will worsen [in 2020]. A slightly smaller percentage (35%) expect people’s reputations, both professional and personal, will continue to be attacked online. One-quarter (25%) of respondents see improvement across each of these risk areas in 2020.”
Digital civility is the practice of leading with empathy and kindness in all online interactions and treating each other with respect and dignity. This type of civility requires users to fully understand and appreciate potential harms and to follow the new rules of the digital road. Some best practices for online communication, often referred to as Netiquette, can help to avoid conflict and miscommunication. Below are some basic guidelines to help exercise digital civility:
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Live the “Golden Rule”
and treat others with respect and dignity both online and off.
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Respect differences
of culture, geography, and opinion, and when disagreements surface, engage thoughtfully.
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Pause before replying
to comments or posts you disagree with, and ensure responses are considerate and free of name-calling and abuse.
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Stand up for yourself and others
if it’s safe and prudent to do so.
Footnotes
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1
nad.org
[www.nad.org]
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2
rwjt.org
[www.rwjf.org]
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3
2017 National School Climate Survey, GLESN.
glsen.org
[www.glsen.org]
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4
Expectations for Digital Civility. Note: Link leads to direct download.


6.1: Introduction to the Skeleton System
Chapter Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
- Describe the functions of the skeletal system and define its two major subdivisions
- Identify the bones and bony structures of the skull, the cranial suture lines, the cranial fossae, and the openings in the skull
- Discuss the vertebral column and regional variations in its bony components and curvatures
- Describe the components of the thoracic cage
- Discuss the embryonic development of the axial skeleton
The skeletal system forms the rigid internal framework of the body. It consists of the bones, cartilages, and ligaments. Bones support the weight of the body, allow for body movements, and protect internal organs. Cartilage provides flexible strength and support for body structures such as the thoracic cage, the external ear, and the trachea and larynx. At joints of the body, cartilage can also unite adjacent bones or provide cushioning between them. Ligaments are the strong connective tissue bands that hold the bones at a moveable joint together and serve to prevent excessive movements of the joint that would result in injury. The skeleton is moved by the muscles of the body, which are firmly attached to bones, often via connective tissue structures called tendons. As muscles contract, they pull on the bones to produce movements of the body. Thus, without a skeleton, you would not be able to stand, run, or even feed yourself!
Each bone of the body serves a particular function, and therefore bones vary in size, shape, and strength based on these functions. For example, the bones of the lower back and lower limb are thick and strong to support your body weight. Similarly, the size of a bony landmark that serves as a muscle attachment site on an individual bone is related to the strength of this muscle. Muscles can apply very strong pulling forces to the bones of the skeleton. To resist these forces, bones have enlarged bony landmarks at sites where powerful muscles attach. This means that not only the size of a bone, but also its shape, is related to its function. For this reason, the identification of bony landmarks is important during your study of the skeletal system.
Bones are also dynamic organs that can modify their strength and thickness in response to changes in muscle strength or body weight. Thus, muscle attachment sites on bones will thicken if you begin a workout program that increases muscle strength. Similarly, the walls of weight-bearing bones will thicken if you gain body weight or begin pounding the pavement as part of a new running regimen. In contrast, a reduction in muscle strength or body weight will cause bones to become thinner. This may happen during a prolonged hospital stay, following limb immobilization in a cast, or going into the weightlessness of outer space. Even a change in diet, such as eating only soft food due to the loss of teeth, will result in a noticeable decrease in the size and thickness of the jaw bones.
Contributors and Attributions
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OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology (CC BY 4.0). Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology


8.7: Resonance
Resonance occurs when the frequency of the inhomogeneous term matches the frequency of the homogeneous solution. To illustrate resonance in its simplest embodiment, we consider the second-order linear inhomogeneous ode
\[\ddot{x}+\omega_{0}^{2} x=f \cos \omega t, \quad x(0)=x_{0}, \dot{x}(0)=u_{0} . \nonumber \]
Our main goal is to determine what happens to the solution in the limit \(\omega \rightarrow \omega_{0}\) .
The homogeneous equation has characteristic equation
\[r^{2}+\omega_{0}^{2}=0 \nonumber \]
so that \(r_{\pm}=\pm i \omega_{0}\) . Therefore,
\[x_{h}(t)=c_{1} \cos \omega_{0} t+c_{2} \sin \omega_{0} t \nonumber \]
To find a particular solution, we note the absence of a first-derivative term, and simply try
\[x(t)=A \cos \omega t \nonumber \]
Upon substitution into the ode, we obtain
\[-\omega^{2} A+\omega_{0}^{2} A=f, \nonumber \]
Or
\[A=\frac{f}{\omega_{0}^{2}-\omega^{2}} \nonumber \]
Therefore,
\[x_{p}(t)=\frac{f}{\omega_{0}^{2}-\omega^{2}} \cos \omega t \nonumber \]
Our general solution is thus
\[x(t)=c_{1} \cos \omega_{0} t+c_{2} \sin \omega_{0} t+\frac{f}{\omega_{0}^{2}-\omega^{2}} \cos \omega t \nonumber \]
with derivative
\[\dot{x}(t)=\omega_{0}\left(c_{2} \cos \omega_{0} t-c_{1} \sin \omega_{0} t\right)-\frac{f \omega}{\omega_{0}^{2}-\omega^{2}} \sin \omega t \nonumber \]
Initial conditions are satisfied when
\[\begin{aligned} &x_{0}=c_{1}+\frac{f}{\omega_{0}^{2}-\omega^{2}} \\ &u_{0}=c_{2} \omega_{0} \end{aligned} \nonumber \]
so that
\[c_{1}=x_{0}-\frac{f}{\omega_{0}^{2}-\omega^{2}}, \quad c_{2}=\frac{u_{0}}{\omega_{0}} . \nonumber \]
Therefore, the solution to the ode that satisfies the initial conditions is
\[\begin{aligned} x(t) &=\left(x_{0}-\frac{f}{\omega_{0}^{2}-\omega^{2}}\right) \cos \omega_{0} t+\frac{u_{0}}{\omega_{0}} \sin \omega_{0} t+\frac{f}{\omega_{0}^{2}-\omega^{2}} \cos \omega t \\ &=x_{0} \cos \omega_{0} t+\frac{u_{0}}{\omega_{0}} \sin \omega_{0} t+\frac{f\left(\cos \omega t-\cos \omega_{0} t\right)}{\omega_{0}^{2}-\omega^{2}} \end{aligned} \nonumber \]
where we have grouped together terms proportional to the forcing amplitude \(f\) .
Resonance occurs in the limit \(\omega \rightarrow \omega_{0}\) ; that is, the frequency of the inhomogeneous term (the external force) matches the frequency of the homogeneous solution (the free oscillation). By L’Hospital’s rule, the limit of the term proportional to \(f\) is found by differentiating with respect to \(\omega\) :
\[\begin{aligned} \lim _{\omega \rightarrow \omega_{0}} \frac{f\left(\cos \omega t-\cos \omega_{0} t\right)}{\omega_{0}^{2}-\omega^{2}} &=\lim _{\omega \rightarrow \omega_{0}} \frac{-f t \sin \omega t}{-2 \omega} \\ &=\frac{f t \sin \omega_{0} t}{2 \omega_{0}} . \end{aligned} \nonumber \]
At resonance, the term proportional to the amplitude \(f\) of the inhomogeneous term increases linearly with \(t\) , resulting in larger-and-larger amplitudes of oscillation for \(x(t)\) . In general, if the inhomogeneous term in the differential equation is a solution of the corresponding homogeneous differential equation, then the correct ansatz for the particular solution is a constant times the inhomogeneous term times \(t\) .
To illustrate this same example further, we return to the original ode, now assumed to be exactly at resonance,
\[\ddot{x}+\omega_{0}^{2} x=f \cos \omega_{0} t \nonumber \]
and find a particular solution directly. The particular solution is the real part of the particular solution of
\[\ddot{z}+\omega_{0}^{2} z=f e^{i \omega_{0} t} . \nonumber \]
If we try \(z_{p}=C e^{i \omega_{0} t}\) , we obtain \(0=f\) , showing that the particular solution is not of this form. Because the inhomogeneous term is a solution of the homogeneous equation, we should take as our ansatz
\[z_{p}=A t e^{i \omega_{0} t} \nonumber \]
We have
\[\dot{z}_{p}=A e^{i \omega_{0} t}\left(1+i \omega_{0} t\right), \quad \ddot{z}_{p}=A e^{i \omega_{0} t}\left(2 i \omega_{0}-\omega_{0}^{2} t\right) ; \nonumber \]
and upon substitution into the ode
\[\begin{aligned} \ddot{z}_{p}+\omega_{0}^{2} z_{p} &=A e^{i \omega_{0} t}\left(2 i \omega_{0}-\omega_{0}^{2} t\right)+\omega_{0}^{2} A t e^{i \omega_{0} t} \\ &=2 i \omega_{0} A e^{i \omega_{0} t} \\ &=f e^{i \omega_{0} t} \end{aligned} \nonumber \]
Therefore,
\[A=\frac{f}{2 i \omega_{0}} \nonumber \]
and
\[\begin{aligned} x_{p} &=\operatorname{Re}\left\{\frac{f t}{2 i \omega_{0}} e^{i \omega_{0} t}\right\} \\ &=\frac{f t \sin \omega_{0} t}{2 \omega_{0}} \end{aligned} \nonumber \]
the same result as Equation \ref{8.29}.
Example: Find a particular solution of \(\ddot{x}-3 \dot{x}-4 x=5 e^{-t}\) .
If we naively try the ansatz
\[x=A e^{-t} \nonumber \]
and substitute this into the inhomogeneous differential equation, we obtain
\[A+3 A-4 A=5 \nonumber \]
or \(0=5\) , which is clearly nonsense. Our ansatz therefore fails to find a solution. The cause of this failure is that the corresponding homogeneous equation has solution
\[x_{h}=c_{1} e^{4 t}+c_{2} e^{-t}, \nonumber \]
so that the inhomogeneous term \(5 e^{-t}\) is one of the solutions of the homogeneous equation. To find a particular solution, we should therefore take as our ansatz
\[x=A t e^{-t} \nonumber \]
with first- and second-derivatives given by
\[\dot{x}=A e^{-t}(1-t), \quad \ddot{x}=A e^{-t}(-2+t) . \nonumber \]
Substitution into the differential equation yields
\[A e^{-t}(-2+t)-3 A e^{-t}(1-t)-4 A t e^{-t}=5 e^{-t} \nonumber \]
The terms containing \(t\) cancel out of this equation, resulting in \(-5 A=5\) , or \(A=-1\) . Therefore, the particular solution is
\[x_{p}=-t e^{-t} . \nonumber \]


9.10B: HIV Attachment and Host Cell Entry
- Define the unique aspects of HIV attachment and host cell entry
HIV entry is the earliest stage of infection in the HIV viral life cycle, occurring when the HIV virus comes into contact with the host cell and introduces viral material into the cell. HIV enters macrophages and CD4-positive T cells (CD4 is a glycoprotein receptor found on cells) by the adsorption of glycoproteins on its surface to receptors on the target cell, followed by fusion of the viral envelope with the cell membrane and the release of the HIV capsid into the cell.
Entry to the cell begins through interaction of the trimeric envelope complex and both CD4 and a chemokine receptor on the host cell on the cell surface. The HIV coat protein, gp120, binds to integrin α4β7, activating LFA-1 (the central integrin involved in the establishment of bridges known as “virological synapses”) which facilitate efficient cell-to-cell spreading of HIV-1.
After attachment, the HIV viron must next fuse with the host cell. The first step in fusion begins after the attachment of the CD4 binding domains of gp120 to CD4. Once gp120 is bound with the CD4 protein, the envelope complex undergoes a structural change, exposing the chemokine binding domains of gp120 and allowing them to interact with the target chemokine receptor. This allows for a more stable two-pronged attachment, which allows the N-terminal fusion peptide gp41 to penetrate the cell membrane. Repeat sequences in gp41, known as HR1 and HR2, then interact, causing the collapse of the extracellular portion of gp41 into a hairpin. This loop structure brings the virus and cell membranes close together, allowing fusion of the membranes and subsequent entry of the viral capsid.
After HIV has bound to the target cell, the HIV RNA and various enzymes (including reverse transcriptase, integrase, ribonuclease, and protease) are injected into the cell. Because HIV attachment is critical for the HIV replication cycle, understanding the specific mechanisms through which HIV attachment occurs has implications for potential treatments of HIV.
Key Points
- HIV proteins bind to specific receptors of host cells, most importantly HIV coat proteins gp41 and gp160.
- After attaching to the host, many of the receptors on both the cell and invading virus bind together for fusion of the virus with its host.
- Because HIV attachment is critical for the HIV replication cycle, understanding the specific mechanisms by which HIV attachment occurs has implications for potential treatments of HIV.
Key Terms
- glycoprotein : A protein with covalently bonded carbohydrates.
- macrophages : A type of white blood cell that targets foreign material, including bacteria and viruses.
- capsid : The outer protein shell of a virus.
- chemokine : Any of various cytokines, produced during inflammation, that organize the leukocytes.
- T cells : A lymphocyte, from the thymus, that can recognise specific antigens and can activate or deactivate other immune cells.