4.1: SLList - A Singly-Linked List
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An SLList (singly-linked list) is a sequence of Node s. Each node \(\mathtt{u}\) stores a data value \(\texttt{u.x}\) and a reference \(\texttt{u.next}\) to the next node in the sequence. For the last node \(\mathtt{w}\) in the sequence, \(\texttt{w.next} = \mathtt{null}\)
class Node { T x; Node next; }
For efficiency, an SLList uses variables \(\mathtt{head}\) and \(\mathtt{tail}\) to keep track of the first and last node in the sequence, as well as an integer \(\mathtt{n}\) to keep track of the length of the sequence:
Node head; Node tail; int n;
A sequence of Stack and Queue operations on an SLList is illustrated in Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\).
An SLList can efficiently implement the Stack operations \(\mathtt{push()}\) and \(\mathtt{pop()}\) by adding and removing elements at the head of the sequence. The \(\mathtt{push()}\) operation simply creates a new node \(\mathtt{u}\) with data value \(\mathtt{x}\), sets \(\texttt{u.next}\) to the old head of the list and makes \(\mathtt{u}\) the new head of the list. Finally, it increments \(\mathtt{n}\) since the size of the SLList has increased by one:
T push(T x) { Node u = new Node(); u.x = x; u.next = head; head = u; if (n == 0) tail = u; n++; return x; }
The \(\mathtt{pop()}\) operation, after checking that the SLList is not empty, removes the head by setting \(\mathtt{head}=\texttt{head.next}\) and decrementing \(\mathtt{n}\). A special case occurs when the last element is being removed, in which case \(\mathtt{tail}\) is set to \(\mathtt{null}\):
T pop() { if (n == 0) return null; T x = head.x; head = head.next; if (--n == 0) tail = null; return x; }
Clearly, both the \(\mathtt{push(x)}\) and \(\mathtt{pop()}\) operations run in \(O(1)\) time.
\(\PageIndex{1}\) Queue Operations
An SLList can also implement the FIFO queue operations \(\mathtt{add(x)}\) and \(\mathtt{remove()}\) in constant time. Removals are done from the head of the list, and are identical to the \(\mathtt{pop()}\) operation:
T remove() { if (n == 0) return null; T x = head.x; head = head.next; if (--n == 0) tail = null; return x; }
Additions, on the other hand, are done at the tail of the list. In most cases, this is done by setting \(\texttt{tail.next}=\mathtt{u}\), where \(\mathtt{u}\) is the newly created node that contains \(\mathtt{x}\). However, a special case occurs when \(\mathtt{n}=0\), in which case \(\mathtt{tail}=\mathtt{head}=\mathtt{null}\). In this case, both \(\mathtt{tail}\) and \(\mathtt{head}\) are set to \(\mathtt{u}\).
boolean add(T x) { Node u = new Node(); u.x = x; if (n == 0) { head = u; } else { tail.next = u; } tail = u; n++; return true; }
Clearly, both \(\mathtt{add(x)}\) and \(\mathtt{remove()}\) take constant time.
\(\PageIndex{2}\) Summary
The following theorem summarizes the performance of an SLList :
An SLList implements the Stack and (FIFO) Queue interfaces. The \(\mathtt{push(x)}\), \(\mathtt{pop()}\), \(\mathtt{add(x)}\) and \(\mathtt{remove()}\) operations run in \(O(1)\) time per operation.
An SLList nearly implements the full set of Deque operations. The only missing operation is removing from the tail of an SLList . Removing from the tail of an SLList is difficult because it requires updating the value of \(\mathtt{tail}\) so that it points to the node \(\mathtt{w}\) that precedes \(\mathtt{tail}\) in the SLList ; this is the node \(\mathtt{w}\) such that \(\texttt{w.next}=\mathtt{tail}\). Unfortunately, the only way to get to \(\mathtt{w}\) is by traversing the SLList starting at \(\mathtt{head}\) and taking \(\mathtt{n}-2\) steps.


38.3: Interpreting Points on a Coordinate Plane
Lesson
Let's examine what points on the coordinate plane can tell us.
Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\): Unlabeled Points
Label each point on the coordinate plane with the appropriate letter and ordered pair.
\(A=(7,-5.5)\qquad B=(-8,4)\qquad C=(3,2)\qquad D=(-3.5,0.2)\)
Exercise \(\PageIndex{2}\): Account Balance
The graph shows the balance in a bank account over a period of 14 days. The axis labeled \(b\) represents account balance in dollars. The axis labeled \(d\) represents the day.
- Estimate the greatest account balance. On which day did it occur?
- Estimate the least account balance. On which day did it occur?
- What does the point \((6,-50)\) tell you about the account balance?
- How can we interpret \(|-50|\) in the context?
Exercise \(\PageIndex{3}\): High and Low Temperatures
The coordinate plane shows the high and low temperatures in Nome, Alaska over a period of 8 days. The axis labeled \(T\) represents temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit. The axis labeled \(d\) represents the day.
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- What was the warmest high temperature?
- Write an inequality to describe the high temperatures, \(H\), over the 8-day period.
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- What was the coldest low temperature?
- Write an inequality to describe the low temperatures, \(L\), over the 8-day period.
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- On which day(s) did the largest difference between the high and low temperatures occur? Write down this difference.
- On which day(s) did the smallest difference between the high and low temperatures occur? Write down this difference.
Are you ready for more?
Before doing this problem, do the problem about taxicab distance in an earlier lesson.
The point \((0,3)\) is 4 taxicab units away from \((-4,3)\) and 4 taxicab units away from \((2,1)\).
- Find as many other points as you can that are 4 taxicab units away from both \((-4,3)\) and \((2,1)\).
- Are there any points that are 3 taxicab units away from both points?
Summary
Points on the coordinate plane can give us information about a context or a situation. One of those contexts is about money.
To open a bank account, we have to put money into the account. The account balance is the amount of money in the account at any given time. If we put in $350 when opening the account, then the account balance will be 350.
Sometimes we may have no money in the account and need to borrow money from the bank. In that situation, the account balance would have a negative value. If we borrow $200, then the account balance is -200.
A coordinate grid can be used to display both the balance and the day or time for any balance. This allows to see how the balance changes over time or to compare the balances of different days.
Similarly, if we plot on the coordinate plane data such as temperature over time, we can see how temperature changes over time or compare temperatures of different times.
Glossary Entries
Definition: Quadrant
The coordinate plane is divided into 4 regions called quadrants. The quadrants are numbered using Roman numerals, starting in the top right corner.
Practice
Exercise \(\PageIndex{4}\)
The elevation of a submarine is shown in the table. Draw and label coordinate axes with an appropriate scale and plot the points.
| time after noon (hours) | elevation (meters) |
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| \(0\) | \(-567\) |
| \(1\) | \(-892\) |
| \(2\) | \(-1,606\) |
| \(3\) | \(-1,289\) |
| \(4\) | \(-990\) |
| \(5\) | \(-702\) |
| \(6\) | \(-365\) |
Exercise \(\PageIndex{5}\)
The inequalities \(h>42\) and \(h<60\) represent the height requirements for an amusement park ride, where \(h\) represents a person's height in inches.
Write a sentence or draw a sign that describes these rules as clearly as possible.
(From Unit 7.2.1)
Exercise \(\PageIndex{6}\)
The \(x\)-axis represents the number of hours before or after noon, and the \(y\)-axis represents the temperature in degrees Celsius.
- At 9 a.m., it was below freezing. In what quadrant would this point be plotted?
- At 11 a.m., it was \(10^{\circ}\text{C}\). In what quadrant would this point be plotted?
- Choose another time and temperature. Then tell the quadrant where the point should be plotted.
- What does the point \((0,0)\) represent in this context?
Exercise \(\PageIndex{7}\)
Solve each equation.
\(\begin{array}{lllll}{3a=12}&{\qquad}&{b+3.3=8.9}&{\qquad}&{1=\frac{1}{4}c}\\{5\frac{1}{2}=d+\frac{1}{4}}&{\qquad}&{2e=6.4}&{}&{}\end{array}\)
(From Unit 6.1.4)


12.3: Characteristics of Interpretive Research
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All interpretive research must adhere to a common set of principles, as described below.
Naturalistic inquiry: Social phenomena must be studied within their natural setting.
Because interpretive research assumes that social phenomena are situated within—and cannot be isolated from—their social context, interpretations of such phenomena must be grounded within their sociohistorical context. This implies that contextual variables should be observed and considered in seeking explanations of a phenomenon of interest, even though context sensitivity may limit the generalisability of inferences.
Researcher as instrument: Researchers are often embedded within the social context that they are studying, and are considered part of the data collection instrument in that they must use their observational skills, their trust with the participants, and their ability to extract the correct information. Further, their personal insights, knowledge, and experiences of the social context are critical to accurately interpreting the phenomenon of interest. At the same time, researchers must be fully aware of their personal biases and preconceptions, and not let such biases interfere with their ability to present a fair and accurate portrayal of the phenomenon.
Interpretive analysis: Observations must be interpreted through the eyes of the participants embedded in the social context. Interpretation must occur at two levels. The first level involves viewing or experiencing the phenomenon from the subjective perspectives of the social participants. The second level is to understand the meaning of the participants’ experiences in order to provide a ‘thick description’ or a rich narrative story of the phenomenon of interest that can communicate why participants acted the way they did.
Use of expressive language: Documenting the verbal and non-verbal language of participants and the analysis of such language are integral components of interpretive analysis. The study must ensure that the story is viewed through the eyes of a person, and not a machine, and must depict the emotions and experiences of that person, so that readers can understand and relate to that person. Use of imageries, metaphors, sarcasm, and other figures of speech are very common in interpretive analysis.
Temporal nature: Interpretive research is often not concerned with searching for specific answers, but with understanding or ‘making sense of’ a dynamic social process as it unfolds over time. Hence, such research requires the researcher to immerse themself in the study site for an extended period of time in order to capture the entire evolution of the phenomenon of interest.
Hermeneutic circle: Interpretive interpretation is an iterative process of moving back and forth from pieces of observations (text), to the entirety of the social phenomenon (context), to reconcile their apparent discord, and to construct a theory that is consistent with the diverse subjective viewpoints and experiences of the embedded participants. Such iterations between the understanding/meaning of a phenomenon and observations must continue until ‘theoretical saturation’ is reached, whereby any additional iteration does not yield any more insight into the phenomenon of interest.


2: Periodic Functions and Non-Right Triangles
In this chapter, we will investigate graphs of sine, cosine, and other trigonometric functions.
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- 2.1: Prelude to Periodic Functions
- Each day, the sun rises in an easterly direction, approaches some maximum height relative to the celestial equator, and sets in a westerly direction. The pattern of the sun’s motion throughout the course of a year is a periodic function. Creating a visual representation of a periodic function in the form of a graph can help us analyze the properties of the function.
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- 2.4: Inverse Trigonometric Functions
- In this section, we will explore the inverse trigonometric functions. Inverse trigonometric functions “undoes” what the original trigonometric function “does,” as is the case with any other function and its inverse. In other words, the domain of the inverse function is the range of the original function, and vice versa.
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- 2.5: Non-right Triangles - Law of Sines
- In this section, we will find out how to solve problems involving non-right triangles. The Law of Sines can be used to solve oblique triangles. According to the Law of Sines, the ratio of the measurement of one of the angles to the length of its opposite side equals the other two ratios of angle measure to opposite side. There are three possible cases: ASA, AAS, SSA. Depending on the information given, we can choose the appropriate equation to find the requested solution.
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- 2.6: Non-right Triangles - Law of Cosines
- Unfortunately, while the Law of Sines enables us to address many non-right triangle cases, it does not help us with triangles where the known angle is between two known sides, a SAS (side-angle-side) triangle, or when all three sides are known, but no angles are known, a SSS (side-side-side) triangle. In this section, we will investigate another tool for solving oblique triangles described by these last two cases.
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- 2.7: Modeling with Trigonometric Equations
- Many natural phenomena are also periodic. For example, the phases of the moon have a period of approximately 28 days, and birds know to fly south at about the same time each year. So how can we model an equation to reflect periodic behavior? First, we must collect and record data. We then find a function that resembles an observed pattern and alter the function to get adependable model. Here. we will take a deeper look at specific types of periodic behavior and model equations to fit data.
Contributors and Attributions
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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 .


3.3: Worship Music
During the Renaissance from 1442 to 1483, church choir membership increased dramatically in size. The incorporation of entire male ensembles and choirs sing- ing in parts during the Renaissance is one major difference from the Middle Ages’ polyphonic church music, which was usually sung by soloists. As the Renaissance progressed, the church remained an important supporter of music although, mu- sical activity gradually shifted to secular support. Royalty and the wealthy of the courts seeking after and competing for the finest composers replaced what was originally church supported. The motet and the mass are the two main forms of sacred choral music of the Renaissance.
3.5.1 motet
The motet , a sacred Latin text polyphonic choral work, is not taken from the ordinary of the mass. A contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci and Christopher Co- lumbus, Josquin des Prez was a master of Renaissance choral music. Originally from the region that is today’s Belgium, Josquin spent much of his time serving in chapels throughout Italy and partly in Rome for the papal choir. Later, he worked for Louis XII of France and held several church music directorships in his native land. During his career, he published masses, motets, and secular vocal pieces, and was highly respected by his contemporaries.
Josquin’s “Ava Maria ...Virgo Serena”(“Hail, Mary ... Serene Virgin”) ca. 1485 is an outstanding Renaissance choral work. A four part (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) Latin prayer, the piece weaves one, two, three and four voices at different times in polyphonic texture.
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LISTENING GUIDE For audio go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUAgAF4Khmg To view a full text score of Josquin des Prez “Ave Maria...Virgo Serena” while listening, go to: www.cengage.com/music/book_co...57273X_wright- Simms/assets/more/scores/JosquinAveMaria.pdf |
| Composer: Josquin des Prez |
| Composition: Ava Maria...Virgo Serena |
| Date: c. 1485, possibly Josquin’s earliest dated work |
| Genre: motet |
| Form: through composed in sections |
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Translation: Available at the following link: http://unam-ecclesiam.blogspot.com/2...utiful-ave-ma- ria-by-josquin.html |
| Performing Forces: four-part choir |
| What we want you to remember about this composition: The piece is revolutionary in how it presented the imitative weaving of melodic lines in polyphony. Each voice imitates or echoes the high voice (soprano). |
| Other things to listen for: After the initial introduction to Mary, each verse serves as a tribute to the major events of Mary’s life—her conception, the na- tivity, annunciation, purification, and assumption. See above translation and listening guide. |
3.5.2 music of Catholicism—renaissance mass
In the sixteenth century, Italian composers excelled with works comparable to the mastery of Josquin des Prez and his other contemporaries. One of the most important Italian Renaissance composers was Giovanni Pieruigi da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594). Devoting his career to the music of the Catholic Church, Palestrina served as music director at St. Peter’s Cathedral, composed 450 sacred works and 104 masses. His influence in music history is best understood with a brief back- ground of the Counter-Reformation.
Protestant reformists like Martin Luther and others, sought to correct mal- practices and abuses within the structure of the Catholic Church. The Reformation began with Martin Luther and spread to two more main branches: The Calvinist and The Church of England. The protestant reformists challenged many practices that benefitted only the church itself and did not appear to serve the lay members (parishioners). A movement occurred within the church to counter the protestant reformation and preserve the original Catholic Church. The preservation move- ment or “Counter-Reformation” against the protestant reform led to the develop- ment of the Jesuit order (1540) and the later assembling of the Council of Trent (1545-1563) which considered issues of the church’s authority and organizational structure. The Council of Trent also demanded simplicity in music in order that the words might be heard clearly.
The Council of Trent discussed and studied the many issues facing the Catholic Church, including the church’s music. The papal leadership felt that the music had gotten so embellished and artistic that it had lost its purity and original meaning. It was neither easily sung nor was its words (still in Latin) understood. Many accused the types of music in the church as being theatrical and more entertaining rather than a way of worship (something that is still debated in many churches today). The Council of Trent felt melodies were secular, too ornamental, and even took dance music as their origin. The advanced weaving of polyphonic lines could not be understood, thereby detracting from their original intent of worship with sacred text. The Council of Trent wanted a paradigm shift of religious sacred music back toward monophonic Gregorian chant. The Council of Trent finally decreed that church music should be composed to inspire religious contemplation and not just give empty pleasure to the ear of the worshipper.
Renaissance composer Palestrina heeded the recommendations from The Council of Trent and composed one of the period’s most famous works, “Missa Papae Marcelli ” (Pope Marcellus Mass). Palestrina’s restraint and serenity reflect the recommendations of The Council of Trent. The text, though quite polyphonic, is easily understood. The movement of the voices does not distract from the sacred meaning of the text. Through history, Palestrina’s works have been the standard for their calmness and quality.
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Listening Guide For audio go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeLI...&feature=youtu . be&list=PLlu9u9ap3Q8ySADTqkhuoNyX_NeL44yrQ |
| Composer: Giovanni Pieruigi da Palestrina (1525-1594) |
| Composition: “Missa Papae Marcelli” (Pope Marcellus Mass)- 1. Kyrie |
| Date: c. 1562 |
| Genre: Choral, Kyrie of Mass |
| Form: through-composed (without repetition in the form of verses, stanzas, or strophes) in sections |
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Nature of Text: Latin Text English Translation Kyrie eleison, Lord have mercy, Christe eleison, Christ have mercy, Kyrie eleison, Lord have mercy, |
| Performing Forces: Unknown vocal ensemble |
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What we want you to remember about this composition:
Listen to
the polyphony and how the voices move predominantly stepwise after a leap upward. After initial voice begins the piece, the other voices enter imitating the initial melody and then continue to weave the voices as more enter. Palestrina’s mass would come to represent proper counterpoint/polyphony and become the standard for years to come. |
| Other things to listen for: even though the voices overlap in polyphony, the text is easily understood. The masses were written as to bring out the text and make it simple to understand. The significance of the text is brought out and easily understood. |
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Listening Guide : Follow the musical score as you listen to the selection. license | GNU |
3.5.3 Music of the Protestant Reformation
As a result of the Reformation, congregations began singing strophic hymns in German with stepwise melodies during their worship services. This practice enabled full participation of worshipers. Full participation of the congregations’ members further empowered the individual church participant, thus contributing to the Re- naissance’s Humanist movement. Early Protestant hymns stripped away contrapun- tal textures, utilized regular beat patterns, and set biblical texts in German.
Instead of a worship service being led with a limited number of clerics at the front of the church, Luther wanted the congregation to actively and fully partici- pate, including in the singing of the service. Since these hymns were in German, members of the parish could sing and understand them. Luther, himself a com- poser, composed many hymns and chorales to be sung by the congregation during worship, many of which Johann Sebastian Bach would make the melodic themes of his Chorale Preludes 125 years after the original hymns were written. These hymns are strophic (repeated verses as in poetry) with repeated melodies for the different verses. Many of these chorales utilize syncopated rhythms to clarify the text and its flow (rhythms). Luther’s hymn “A Mighty Fortress” is a good example of this practice. The chorales/hymns were usually in four parts and moved with homophonic texture (all parts changing notes in the same rhythm). The melodies of these four-part hymn/chorales used as the basis for many chorale preludes per- formed on organs prior to and after worship services are still used today.
An example of one such Chorale Prelude based on Luther’s him can be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVN0CIcqRYs
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LISTENING GUIDE For audio go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=G42xwWoUS-0; This recording is in English and performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. |
| Composer: Martin Luther |
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Composition: “ A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” (also known as the “Battle Hymn of the Reformation”) |
| Date: 1529 |
| Genre: Four-Part homophonic church anthem. This piece was written to be sung by the lay church membership instead of just by the church leaders a was practiced prior to the Reformation. |
| Form: Four part Chorale, Strophic |
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Nature of Text (topic, lyrics, translations): Originally in German so it could be sung by all church attendees. |
| Performing Forces: Congregation-This recording is the Mormon Tabernacle Choir |
| Things to listen for: Stepwise melody, Syncopated rhythms centered around text |
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Translation: Translated from original German to English by Frederic H. Hedge in 1853.
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
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You can view a PBS Luther documentary at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyVrPIp4QsA
For another movie on Martin Luther, go to:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmcKlPyRxSM
3.5.4 Anthem
Composer William Byrd (1543 – 1623) became very distinguished from ma- ny of his contemporary composers because of his utilization of many different compositional tools that he used in his music. His works represent several musical personalities instead of one single style. As his career progressed, Byrd become more interested and involved in Catholicism. The influence of Catholicism through the use of biblical text and religious styles increasingly permeated his music. The mandates established and requirements imposed by the Council of Trent placed a serious stumbling block in the path of the development of church music compositional techniques after the reformation. Several denominations had to adapt to the mandates required by the Council of Trent. The music in the Catholic Church experienced relatively little change as the result of the reformation. This lack of change was the result composers such as Byrd who remained loyal to the religion and their refusal to change their “traditional catholic” style of composing.
In Byrd’s Anglican Anthem, “Sing Joyfully Unto God,” the opening phrase of the text is set with a single voice on each part. This technique is very similar to the Catholic Church settings of Chant incipits. This full anthem by Byrd is much more polyphonic in nature than that of verse anthems. It also borrows heavily from both madrigal and motet styles, though modified for the liturgy. “Sing Joyfully Unto God” is one of the most thoroughly motet-like of the many Byrd anthems. Within the anthem there is a new point of imitation for each new phrase of text. Byrd extensively uses the text depictions to creatively illustrate the music’s meaning. Below is an example of how Byrd’s “Sing Joyfully, Unto God” emphasizes the trumpet call of the text. All voices are singing together to depict the fullness of a trumpet fanfare, thickening the texture to illustrate the musical concept. This section begins with homophony, but polyphony is employed throughout the work. Byrd uses this technique primarily for a structural contrast device.
license | CPDL
The use of imitation as a structural tool is maintained primarily within full anthems. Byrd also uses a technique called pairing of voices, which was highly popular within the Renaissance period.1
this is a footnote
1 Mitchell, Shelley. “William Byrd: Covert Catholic Values with Anglican Anthems Comparison of Style to Catholic Gradualia.” MA thesis. Indiana State University, 2008. Web. 15 December 2015.
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Listening Guide For audio, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mPkPnN-T9o University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Concert Choir |
| Composer: William Byrd |
| Composition: Sing Joyfully Unto God |
| Date: circa 1580-1590 |
| Genre: Choral (Anthem) |
| Form: Through-composed |
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Nature of Text:
SSAATB
Sing joyfully to God our strength; sing loud unto the God of Jacob! Take the song, bring forth the timbrel, the pleasant harp, and the viol. Blow the trumpet in the New Moon, even in the time appointed, and at our feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. |
| Performing Forces: six-part choir |
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What we want you to remember about this composition: This is a very much a motet-like sounding church anthem. It sounds very much like a mass but the text does not come from any of the five sections of the mass. The work incorporated many of the polyphony techniques used in the mass. Listen how the six voices interweave. Significant points: One of the most popular pieces from the time period. The Psalm 81 text is set in English. Scored in SSAATB (two sopranos, two alsos, one tenor, and one bass).
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7.22: Employee Orientation and Training
- Describe employee orientation approaches.
- Describe employee training approaches.
Before any employee can get to work, he or she must go through a process of onboarding that includes:
- Filling out legal and financial paperwork
- Learning about and signing up for eligible benefits
- Reviewing the employee handbook and policies
- Receiving any necessary training in job-specific technology, procedures, etc.
Sometimes, corporations believe that they can hand new employees a stack of paperwork and assume they will fill it out correctly and figure out how to fit in with their new employer. This is rarely a good idea, as every employer has its own systems and expectations—and being the “new kid on the block” is tough enough without adding a laundry list of do-it-yourself tasks.
Why Orientation and Training Are Important
When a new employee arrives, he or she is likely to have preconceived ideas about what is expected of him or her, and are likely to be anxious about making a good impression. Often, those ideas are based either on prior experience, on word of mouth, or on information the new employees have gathered through the media. None of these sources will help a new employee if his expectations don’t match reality.
Orientation and training can serve many positive purposes. For example, they can:
- Lower costs by helping the employee get up to speed quickly and avoid time- or money-consuming mistakes.
- Help the employee to gain confidence and feel valued because he or she knows the company’s system, people, and expectations.
- Improve the employee’s performance by helping him or her to build skills and relationships quickly.
Employees who know what they’re doing can save their employer a huge amount of money. Almost half of Walmart’s workers turn over each year, [1] which could be why it often scores poorly for customer service. Walmart said inept shelf-stocking cost $3 billion in 2014. [2] Costco pays more to have happier staff who quit less and build up skills. Margins are higher as a result. [3]
Even an employee who makes $8 per hour can end up costing a company around $3,500 in turnover costs, both direct and indirect. [4] Some studies have put the costs of employee turnover in certain industries even higher—one report from Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research estimated an overall turnover rate of 120 percent in the quick-service restaurant industry, with turnover costs averaging $5,864 per employee. [5]
How Human Resources Onboards Employees
Human resources professionals are usually in charge of ensuring new hires have completed all necessary paperwork, signed up for benefits, reviewed safety and ethics policies, and received a comprehensive tour of the workplace. Before getting into the details of the workplace, most HR managers will ensure that employees have filled out and signed paperwork that proves their eligibility to work in the United States, as well as tax forms and other important documents.
Together with the hiring manager, HR may also set up and implement training, introduce new hires to key staff, provide keys or codes, and explain (for example) how mail is sent and received, when and where to get lunch, where to park, and whether it’s okay to use social media during work hours.
How Managers Welcome New Employees
Even though HR will (or should) walk a new employee through necessary paperwork and training, it’s important for managers to make their new hires feel welcome. It’s equally important to help new hires acclimate to a new work setting. To do this, many managers will:
- Send a welcome letter to their new hire before they arrive, providing information about what to expect on their first day at the new job. Sometimes this letter will include suggestions for appropriate attire, parking information, and other key details.
- Meet with HR to discuss exactly when and how the new hire will learn about company policies and benefits.
- Meet with team members to set up the new hire’s work space, passwords, telephones, and access to necessary systems.
- Assign one individual to serve as the new employee’s mentor or buddy (usually someone who knows the ropes and can provide answers to most reasonable questions).
- Plan for the new hire’s schedule and initial set of tasks, as well as a process for helping the new hire to ask questions, review procedures, and ensure that he or she is off to a good start.
- Plan for any training the new hire will need (in collaboration with HR and department members).
- Set up a lunch with the new hire and other members of the working team as a way to get to know one another, answer questions, and make personal connections.
Options for New Employee Training
Training can take many forms, depending upon the type of work for which the employee is hired and the employee’s existing level of skill. Training may be more critical if the company uses proprietary software or systems that don’t exist in other locations or if procedures or policies are unusual, involve industrial or official secrets, require specialized knowledge, or are legally complex.
Some types of training techniques include:
- Self-paced online training in areas such as software skills, safety procedures, or other technical skills.
- Hands-on training in the use of equipment or machines ranging from copiers to heavy equipment.
- Leader-led group training programs to teach “soft” skills such as coaching, team-building, customer service, client management.
- Formal business courses through outside vendors.
- “Shadowing” or following a skilled employee to observe and learn skills and procedures.
- Mentoring or one-on-one meetings to review work, discuss options, and provide feedback.
The key to successful training is to ensure that the employee truly understands and can use the information provided. Evaluation can involve formal testing or informal conversations. It’s important to let the new hire know that questions are welcome—and there is no such thing as a “dumb question.”
- Rachel Abrams, “Walmart Worker Advocates Express Skepticism Over Raises,” June 3, 2016, accessed July 27, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/04/business/walmart-worker-advocates-express-skepticism-over-raises.html . ↵
- “Serfs up,” The Economist, March 26, 2015, accessed July 27, 2017, https://www.economist.com/news/business/21647320-american-firms-are-having-get-back-habit-granting-pay-rises-serfs-up . ↵
- Wayne F. Cascio, “The High Cost of Low Wages,” December 2006, accessed July 27, 2017, https://hbr.org/2006/12/the-high-cost-of-low-wages . ↵
- The Build Network, “Try Fixing the Problem Before Replacing It,” Inc., Feb. 27, 2014, accessed July 27, 2017, https://www.inc.com/the-build-network/turnover-costs.html . ↵
- J. B. Tracey and Timothy R. Hinkin. “The Costs of Employee Turnover: When the Devil Is in the Details.” Cornell Hospitality Report 6, no. 15 (2006), 6, 8. http://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1148&context=chrpubs . ↵
Contributors and Attributions
- Employee Orientation and Training. Authored by : Lisa Jo Rudy and Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
- Working Woman Technology Computer. Authored by : Startup Stock Photos. Located at : https://www.pexels.com/photo/working-woman-technology-computer-7374/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved


2.1: Paragraph Concept
Learning Objectives
- Explain the following laws An explanation of how to type paragraphs properly within word processing documents.
- An explanation of how tabs and returns are treated; including the use of the show/hide feature. the Ideal Gas Law
Word Wrap
Word wrap is the feature of breaking lines between and not within words, except when a single word is longer than a line. So, when your line is full of text, the word processor automatically jumps to the next line. Sometime, the text may wrap in an unwanted location. To make the reading easier, you need to proofread word wrapping location and insert special characters. Two things to be concerned with are how to control word wrapping with nonbreaking hyphens and nonbreaking spaces?
- Insert Nonbreaking Hyphens
If there is a word with hyphen at the end of a line, the first word and the hyphen may appear on the first line, and the second word will be in the next line. So, to keep word with hyphen together, replace the regular hyphen with a nonbreaking hyphen. A nonbreaking hyphen prevents the word with hyphen from becoming separated at the hyphen. To insert a nonbreaking hyphen, press Ctrl+Shift+Hyphen.
- Insert Nonbreaking Spaces
Sometimes text willwrap to the next line if a word does not fit at the end of the line, so some words should be kept together for improved readability. To prevent words from separating due to the word-wrap feature, you can insert a nonbreaking space. To insert a nonbreaking space, press Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar between the two words that you want to keep together.
Show/Hide spaces, return, and tabs
I cannot tell you how helpful using this feature can be. If you get used to working in Word with this feature turned ON, you'll keep yourself out of so much trouble! As you type text, Word inserts nonprinting marks or symbols. To see these symbols click the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Show/Hide button that look like a reversed “p”. When you click it you will see the different characters that show you there are spaces, returns, and tabs on your text.


4.7: Divergence Theorem
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The Divergence Theorem relates an integral over a volume to an integral over the surface bounding that volume. This is useful in a number of situations that arise in electromagnetic analysis. In this section, we derive this theorem.
Consider a vector field \({\bf A}\) representing a flux density, such as the electric flux density \({\bf D}\) or magnetic flux density \({\bf B}\). The divergence of \({\bf A}\) is
\[\nabla \cdot {\bf A} = f \label{m0046_eDivAf} \]
where is \(f({\bf r})\) is the flux per unit volume through an infinitesimally-small closed surface surrounding the point at \({\bf r}\). Since \(f\) is flux per unit volume, we can obtain flux for any larger contiguous volume \({\mathcal V}\) by integrating over \({\mathcal V}\); i.e., \[\mbox{flux through} ~{\mathcal V} = \int_{\mathcal V} f ~dv \nonumber \]
In the Cartesian system, \({\mathcal V}\) can be interpreted as a three-dimensional grid of infinitesimally-small cubes having side lengths \(dx\), \(dy\), and \(dz\), respectively. Note that the flux out of any face of one of these cubes is equal to the flux into the cube that is adjacent through that face. That is, the portion of the total flux that flows between cubes cancels when added together. In fact, the only fluxes which do not cancel in the integration over \({\mathcal V}\) are those corresponding to faces which lie on the bounding surface \({\mathcal S}\), since the integration stops there. Stating this mathematically:
\[\int_{\mathcal V} f ~dv = \oint_{\mathcal S} {\bf A}\cdot d{\bf s} \label{m0046_eIntVIntS} \]
Thus, we have converted a volume integral into a surface integral.
To obtain the Divergence Theorem, we return to Equation \ref{m0046_eDivAf}. Integrating both sides of that equation over \({\mathcal V}\), we obtain \[\int_{\mathcal V} \left( \nabla \cdot {\bf A} \right) dv = \int_{\mathcal V} f ~dv \nonumber \] Now applying Equation \ref{m0046_eIntVIntS} to the right hand side:
\[\boxed{ \int_{\mathcal V} \left( \nabla \cdot {\bf A} \right) dv = \oint_{\mathcal S} {\bf A}\cdot d{\bf s} } \label{m0046_eDivThm} \]
The Divergence Theorem (Equation \ref{m0046_eDivThm}) states that the integral of the divergence of a vector field over a volume is equal to the flux of that field through the surface bounding that volume.
The principal utility of the Divergence Theorem is to convert problems that are defined in terms of quantities known throughout a volume into problems that are defined in terms of quantities known over the bounding surface and vice-versa.


10.4.4: Theoretical Approaches
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Paradigms are theoretical frameworks explaining society (Griffiths et al. 2015). These frameworks are perspectives, a way of observing and examining people and the world through different lenses. As a sociological practitioner, you must learn to use and apply sociological theories to understand and evaluate people and their social situations or conditions from an objective viewpoint to identify appropriate interventions.
Sociologists use theories to study and understand people. “The theoretical paradigms provide different lenses into the social constructions of life and the relationships of people” (Kennedy, Norwood, and Jendian 2017:22). In using the sociological eye, each theoretical paradigm helps remove bias in assessing people and social issues at all levels of analysis (macro, meso, and micro). There as three major paradigms in the field of sociology: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Functionalism and conflict theory examine society on macro and meso levels. Symbolic interactionism investigates micro level interactions in society. There are also three modern or emerging paradigms in sociology: feminism, exchange theory, and environmental theory. Feminism and environmental analyze macro and meso levels. Exchange theory focuses on micro level analysis.
Functionalism is a macrosociological perspective examining the purpose or contributions of interrelated parts within the social structure. Functionalists examine how parts of society contribute to the whole. Everything in society has a purpose or function. Even a negative contribution helps society discern its function. For example, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs inspired society to define the behavior as undesirable, develop laws, and consequences for people committing such an act. A manifest function in society results in expected outcomes (i.e., using a pencil to develop written communication). Whereas, a latent function has unexpected results (i.e., using a pencil to stab someone). When a function creates unexpected results that cause social hardships or negative consequences the result is defined as a latent dysfunction.
Conflict Theory is a macrosociological perspective exploring the competition among social groups over resources in society. Groups compete for status, power, control, money, territory, and other resources for economic or social gain. Conflict Theory explores the struggle between those in power and those absent of power within a social context of struggle. The cultural war over immigration in the United States with competing groups representing open versus closed border ideologies is an example.
Symbolic Interactionism is a microsociological perspective observing the influence of interactions on thinking and behavior. Interactionists consider how people interpret meaning and symbols to understand and navigate the social world. Individuals create social reality through verbal and non-verbal interactions. These interactions form thoughts and behaviors in response to others influencing motivation and decision-making. Hearing or reading a word in a language one understands, results in a mental image and comprehension about the information shared or communicated (i.e., the English word “bread” is most commonly visualized as a slice or loaf and considered a food item).
There are three modern approaches to sociological theory (Carl 2013). Feminism , a macrosociological perspective, studies the experiences of women and minorities in the social world including the outcomes of inequality and oppression for these groups. One major focus of the feminist theoretical approach is to understand how age, ethnicity, race, sexuality, and social class intersect with gender to determine outcomes for people (Carl 2013). Exchange Theory examines decision-making of individuals in society. This microsociological perspective focuses on understanding how people consider a cost versus benefit analysis accentuating their motivation and self-interest in making decisions. Environmental Theory explores how people adjust to ecological, both environmental and social, changes over time (Carl 2013). The focal point of this macrosociological perspective is to figure out how people adapt or evolve over time in response to ecological space or context.
Applying Theories
Functionalists examine how people work together to create society as a whole. From this perspective, societies need systems, policies, processes, and institutions to exist (Griffiths et al. 2015). For example, policies or laws function to support the social structure of society, and values and norms guide people in their thoughts and actions. Consider how education is an important concept in the United States because it is valued. Educational institutions including the policies and norms surrounding registration, attendance, grades, graduation, and materials (i.e., classrooms, textbooks, libraries) all support the emphasis placed on the value of education in the United States. By observing people using functionalism, we study how members of a society work together by investigating how social systems, policies, processes, and institutions meet the needs of social networks, communities, organizations, and groups.
Conflict theorists understand the social structure as inherently unequal resulting from the differences in power based on age, class, education, gender, income, race, sexuality, and other social factors. For a conflict theorist, society reinforces issues of "privilege” groups and their status in social categories (Griffiths et al. 2015). Inequalities exist in every social system. Therefore, social norms benefit people with status and power while harming others and at the expense of others. For example, although cultural diversity is valued in the United States, some people and states prohibit interracial marriages, same-sex marriages, and polygamy (Griffiths et al. 2015). By applying conflict theory, we investigate the dynamics of power among and between social systems, policies, processes, institutions networks, communities, organizations, and groups.
Symbolic interactionists study the thoughts and actions of individuals through the expression of social interactions between them. These theorists conceptualize human interactions as a continuous process derived from the interpretation and meaning of the physical and social environment. “Every object and action has a symbolic meaning, and language serves as a means for people to represent and communicate their interpretations of these meanings to others” (Griffiths et al. 2015:72). Interactionists evaluate how people depend on the interpretation of meaning and how individuals interact when exchanging comprehension and meaning. For instance, derogatory terms such as the “N” word might be acceptable among people of the same cultural group but viewed as offensive and antagonistic when used by someone outside of the group. When sociological practitioners apply symbolic interactionism, they identify the implication words and symbols including tone, body language, and labels that influence thinking and behavior.
|
Theoretical Paradigm |
Level of Analysis |
Application |
|---|---|---|
|
Functionalism |
Macro and meso |
Examine how members of society work together |
|
Conflict theory |
Macro and meso |
Investigate the social dynamics of power and inequality |
|
Symbolic interactionism |
Micro |
Identify the implication of words and symbols on thinking and behavior |
|
Feminism |
Macro and meso |
Distinguish the circumstances and effects of oppression on women and minority groups |
|
Exchange theory |
Micro |
Evaluate the influence of social forces on thinking, behavior, and decisions |
|
Environmental theory |
Macro and meso |
Discover the social and environmental impact on change or adaptation |
Feminism explores the lives and experiences of women and minorities. For example, a woman in Lebanon does not have the right to dissolve a marriage without her husband’s consent even in cases of spousal abuse (Human Rights Watch 2015). Feminism explicitly examines oppressive structures within systems, policies, and the inequity of institutions and groups in relation to age, gender, race, social class, sexuality, or other social category. The application of feminism in sociological practice notes the circumstances and effects of oppression resulting from social systems, policies, processes, and institutions on networks, communities, organizations, or social groups.
Exchange theorists observe how society and social interactions influence decision-making. Social values and beliefs often influence people’s attitudes, judgments, or actions. Sociological practitioners apply exchange theory to evaluate people’s decisions to see the social forces motivating or driving people’s thinking, behavior, and choices.
Environmental theorists assess how people, as part of the social and physical environment, adapt and change over time. If you contemplate any rule of law, you can see how society has altered because of shifts in social ideas or ecological fluctuations. Consider the anti-tobacco laws in the United States making it illegal to smoke in public spaces as an example of social shifts towards health and wellness, or water meters to control and regulate residential water usage and waste as an example of ecological drought and prolonged water shortages in the United States. Application of environmental theory uncovers the social and environmental influences of change or areas encountering change in social systems, policies, process, institutions, networks, communities, organizations, and groups.
HARNESSING UNDERSTANDING ABOUT SOCIAL CONDITIONS
- Review the organizational information you researched and assessed the Levels of Analysis exercise.
- Analyze the organization using each of the theoretical paradigms: Functionalism, Conflict Theory, Interactionism, Feminism, Exchange Theory, and Environmental Theory.
- Now, analyze the clientele or population served by the organization using each of paradigms: Functionalism, Conflict Theory, Interactionism, Feminism, Exchange Theory, and Environmental Theory.


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1: An Invisible World
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9.7.2: Toulmin Argumentation
Toulmin argumentation was developed by Stephen Toulmin, a British philosopher and educator. He broke down arguments into component parts: claims, grounds, warrants, qualifiers, rebuttals, and backing. This back-argumentation method can be used to both build an argument and analyze the strength of someone else's argument (and perhaps counter-argue if the argument you are reading is weak in some way). The components of a Toulmin argument do not need to appear in any particular order, but for ease of reading, it can make sense for them to be organized as follows: Backing, Warrant, Grounds, Qualifier, Claim, Rebuttal. Typically, however, in academic essays a number of arguments nest or connect together to build an overall argument.
The Claim
The claim is the main argument -- what is being argued overall. One could think of it as a thesis of a paper, if the argument is an entire essay.
Grounds
Grounds are the evidence and facts that support a claim.
Warrant
The warrant is the stated or implied assumption that connects warrants and grounds. Sometimes a warrant may be so obvious that it is hard to identify. Other times the warrant (assumption) can be flawed (see logical fallacies ).
Qualifiers
Qualifiers are statement that "hedge" the claim or state that the claim may not be true all of the time. Hedge words, such as "some," "many," "most of the time" are included in qualifying statements many times.
Rebuttals
A rebuttal is the same thing as a counter-argument. Please see the next section for more detail.
Backing
Backing is support for the warrant, even if the warrant is implied.
Example of a Simple Toulmin Argument
Here is an example of a simple Toulmin argument that can be developed further (easily into a whole essay). The part of the argument is highlighted in gray after the statement.
A number of people and organizations have been calling for turning investor-owned utilities, particularly Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), into public utilities because they think it will make the utilities more accountable. [Backing] Public utilities have boards that can be directly voted in by the people. [Warrant] There are already a number of successful public utilities throughout the U.S., including in California. [Grounds] However, this would depend on people making the right choice of directors for the utility. [Qualifier.] If this occurred, turning investor-owned utilities into public utilities in California might make PG&E more directly accountable to the people it serves in California. [Claim]
Exercise 1
Identify a claim on a social media site. Then try to identify the different components of a Toulmin argument, particularly any unstated warrants, and examine whether any component is missing or problematic (i.e., includes logical fallacies or emotional appeals).
Exercise 2
Do the same as in Exercise 1, but with an article from a popular magazine or a political speech. How many claims and Toulmin arguments can you identify in the speech or article? How are they related to each other? Does one depend on the other? Are they separate? Are some of the arguments developed logically and some not? Evaluate the various arguments you find.
Here are links to a couple of speeches you can use for Exercise 2
Contributors and Attributions
- Revision, Adaptation, and Original Content. Provided by: Libretexts. License: CC BY-SA 4.0: Attribution.
This page most recently updated on June 6, 2020.


23.2: What Is Culturally Responsive Care?
By the end of this section, you should be able to:
- Describe culturally responsive care.
- Explain the basic concepts of culturally competent nursing care.
- Discuss the relationship between cultural competence and health outcomes.
- Describe how valuing and respecting diversity affect health care.
Culturally responsive care fully considers the cultural backgrounds, values, and preferences of individuals, groups, and populations. Culturally responsive care goes beyond being aware of a culture; it involves actively ensuring that all aspects of health care are customized to address the needs and beliefs of the specific population (Schwartz, 2023; Schwartz & Silva, 2023). Nurses who provide culturally responsive care do so by aligning their practice with the values, beliefs, and practices of a client or population. Culturally responsive care improves a nurse’s ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively provide care to individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, resulting in improved health outcomes for individuals and communities.
Cultural Competence and Culturally Congruent Care
Culturally responsive care is one potential outcome of the dynamic process of cultural competence . Although many definitions of cultural competence exist, this chapter uses the one adopted by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing : “cultural competence encompasses the attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary for providing quality care to diverse populations” (AACN, 2008, p. 1).
The concept of cultural competence in nursing has its roots in the work of Cross et al. (1989) and has since expanded to encompass critical components for effective cross-cultural interactions, such as cultural awareness, cultural humility, and cultural sensitivity. The idea of cultural competence in nursing care can be traced back to Leininger ’s book Nursing and Anthropology: Two Worlds to Blend (1970). As discussed in Transcultural Nursing, the field of transcultural nursing has since grown, generating a major theory, several models, and hundreds of research studies. As a result, professional organizations and educational institutions have begun incorporating cultural competence into their policies, standards, and curricula (Marion et al., 2016).
In 2014 the American Nurses Association formed a work group of 40 expert nurses to review and revise the 2010 version of the nursing scope and standards of practice . The work group reviewed all scope statements and standards in light of the increasing cultural and ethnic diversity in health care and the rise in humanitarian needs. Recognizing the need for nurses to have expert guidance on how to provide culturally congruent care , or care that is aligned with a client’s culture, the work group developed a new Standard 8, Culturally Congruent Practice , to describe “nursing care that is in agreement with the preferred values, beliefs, worldview, and practices of the healthcare consumer” (American Nurses Association, 2015, p. 31). This standard sets expectations for nurses’ education, legal responsibilities, and societal obligations. Cultural congruence is a fundamental part of nursing practice and is integral to the agreement between the profession and society. Standard 8 provides guidance for implementation by practicing nurses (Marion et al., 2016).
The latest research emphasizes the importance of improving nurses’ ability to provide culturally congruent care (Im & Chee, 2021). Culturally congruent care is the implementation of evidence-based nursing practice that recognizes and is consistent with the values, beliefs, worldviews, and practices of clients and populations, with the goal of improving health outcomes (Marion et al., 2016). It is customized to the needs of the client, group, or population. For example, a client with diabetes tells their nurse that they come from a culture with different health beliefs and practices and that they frequently consult with a traditional healer about their dietary choices. To provide culturally congruent care, the nurse prioritizes the client’s beliefs and practices, collaborating with them to identify culturally appropriate foods and traditions, and then incorporates these preferences into the care plan. The nurse can then provide culturally responsive education to the client about their dietary choices and encourage them to continue incorporating healthy practices that are congruent with their culture.
Several critiques of cultural competence have emerged. While some health care professionals consider the process of cultural competence an imperative for reducing health inequities , others argue that it is based on ethnocentrism , a belief that one’s own cultural values, traditions, and practices are superior to those of other cultures (Beser et al., 2021). According to this critique, the ethnocentric orientation of cultural competence can lead to stereotyping and, as a result, perpetuate already existing biases and inequities (Berger & Ribeiro Miller, 2021). Other critics argue that the process of developing cultural competence oversimplifies the complex nature of culture, reducing it to facts and easily acquired knowledge while failing to consider cultural change and variability (Campinha-Bacote, 2018). A recent shift toward culturally responsive care focuses on nurses’ ability to recognize and respond inclusively to diverse perspectives, and it emphasizes the importance of social justice (Day & Beard, 2019).
The Significance of Culturally Responsive Nursing
A nurse’s ability to provide effective, culturally responsive nursing care begins by exploring their own attitudes, beliefs, and values and involves an ongoing reflective process with the aim of providing culturally congruent care (Leininger, 1991, 1999). Nurses are not expected to know everything about every culture; acquiring such knowledge would be impossible. Although it is important for nurses to be aware of the different cultural groups prevalent in the areas where they practice, the only way to be certain of a client’s or population’s beliefs is to approach them with an open mind, inquire about preferences and needs, and listen with empathy and humility.
As the U.S. population becomes more diverse, cultural competence becomes increasingly important in health care. Studies have shown that when nurses provide care that responds to a client’s or population’s health beliefs and behaviors, they demonstrate more empathy, communicate more effectively, and provide more substantive client education (Sharifi et al., 2019). Nurses who practice this way can more readily navigate challenging situations when providing care for diverse populations. They are more likely to be aware of potential biases that can come into play when delivering care and are more likely and better able to take steps to minimize those biases. Building relationships of trust between communities and health care professionals can help ensure that individuals receive the appropriate care they need, regardless of their cultural backgrounds or differences. Incorporating culturally competent care is essential for promoting health equity, particularly for underserved groups that have faced significant health disparities and increased rates of illness and mortality. Culturally competent care therefore serves as a means of advocating for these clients’ health and well-being (Pacquiao et al., 2023).
By understanding their clients’ unique cultural needs, nurses can provide more effective and personalized care that encourages client collaboration and engagement. Culturally responsive care facilitates better communication between nurses and clients, improved health management, increased adherence to treatment plans, and greater client satisfaction, all of which can lead to improved health outcomes.
Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequities
Effective culturally responsive care relies on nurses’ understanding of the social determinants of health , which are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, along with the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life that influence health outcomes. As discussed in The Social Determinants of Health, these conditions include income, education, housing, environment, employment, and access to health care. Social determinants of health can create significant health inequities (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [ODPHP], n.d.-b). The unequal distribution of health care services, quality of care, and health status among groups is based on factors such as race , ethnicity , culture , gender , ability , and socioeconomic status .
Health inequities are persistent across the United States. These inequities can follow a person from before birth throughout their lifespan, affecting the health and well-being of communities as well as individuals. Although their causes are systemic, health inequities are preventable. Culturally responsive nurses employ an understanding of the roots of health inequities to reduce them.
For example, some communities with high poverty levels are considered “ food deserts ,” areas where access to affordable and nutritious food is limited or nonexistent. Food deserts can occur due to a lack of grocery stores or farmers markets in the area, inadequate transportation options, or low income levels that make it difficult for residents to afford fresh, healthy food (Figure 23.2). Food deserts are a serious public health concern because they can contribute to various health problems, including obesity , diabetes , and heart disease .
A nurse who recognizes and considers the client’s environment will understand the impact of a food desert on the local community and can provide education and resources to help people obtain nutritious food and make healthier choices. They can also advocate for increased availability of nutritious foods in places such as corner stores, promote the incorporation of healthy foods into school meal programs, and work with clients to identify foods that are important to their cultural backgrounds and traditions.
Health inequities became especially apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Black , Hispanic , Native American/Alaskan Indian , and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander individuals had a 1.5 times greater risk of contracting the infection than White individuals and were twice as likely to die. Various factors contributed to the higher disease and death rates, including greater exposure to the pathogen for essential workers, greater proportions of people living in crowded conditions, less access to health care, and a greater burden of chronic diseases (Alcendor, 2020).
Racial and ethnic minority groups endure higher rates of morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases . For example, the tuberculosis rate among Native Americans is nearly fifteen times greater than that among White Americans, at 4.4 vs. 0.3 cases per 100,000 people (Schildknecht et al., 2023). Life expectancy for Native Americans is 7 years lower than the national average, at 71.8 vs. 78.8 years (Arias et al., 2021). A higher proportion of rural adult Black and American Indian or Alaska Native individuals (40.3 percent for both groups) report having multiple chronic health conditions compared with non-Hispanic White individuals (36 percent). Individuals with chronic conditions need more health care and interact more frequently with health care providers and services; those without a primary care provider are less likely to have their chronic conditions managed. Although chronic illness is more prevalent among racial and ethnic minorities, in rural areas, for example, only 61.5 percent of Hispanic and 63.7 percent of Native American individuals report having a primary care provider.
Younger Black adults live with and succumb to health conditions typically seen in White Americans in old age. For example, 33 percent of Black adults aged 35 to 49 have diagnosed hypertension, compared with 22 percent of White adults in the same age group (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2017). Diabetes rates show an even greater disparity: 10 percent of Black adults have diabetes compared with 6 percent of White adults. Among children, asthma prevalence in Black children (18.1 percent) and Native American/Native Alaskan children (18.0 percent) is nearly twice that of White children (9.5 percent), and it is alarmingly high among children of Puerto Rican descent (23.6 percent) (Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, 2020). Early onset of these conditions leads to greater morbidity and earlier mortality. The challenges presented by structural racism and the social determinants of health are covered in more detail in Unit 2, Issues and Challenges of Population Health.
Culturally Responsive Care and Health Inequities
Culturally responsive care increases client satisfaction, reduces health inequities, and leads to improved outcomes. By promoting respect and understanding between nurses and clients, cultural humility and culturally responsive care can help reduce inequities because the client is more likely to understand, collaborate, and follow the recommended care plan, regardless of their background or circumstances.
Consider this example of the effects of culturally responsive care. Although Black newborns are more than twice as likely to die as White newborns (1,090 vs. 490 deaths per 100,000 births), this number is halved when the physician providing care to the newborn is also Black. This difference may be due to Black providers’ recognition and understanding of the unique challenges and needs of babies born to people already prone to poorer health outcomes (Greenwood et al., 2020).
Health outcomes also improve when community preferences and needs are considered. Native Americans experience multiple structural inequities , including discrimination , poverty , forced relocation , and a history of trauma , all of which play a role in the high rates of substance misuse among some Native populations. In addition to these challenges, Native American communities often have limited access to quality health care services, including substance misuse treatment and mental health services. Nurses are responding to this need by advocating for culturally adapted, locally based interventions. For example, the Native Alaskan Yup’ik community-initiated alcohol abuse prevention program Qungasavik was developed as a toolbox for building on Native community strengths (Rasmus et al., 2014). Similarly, work by the Native Transformations Project identified the importance of family, community, and spirituality as protective factors against substance abuse (Rasmus et al., 2016).
Read the scenario, and then respond to the questions that follow.
Cory, the community health nurse introduced at the start of this chapter, is meeting another new client in the clinic today. Faiza is a married 28-year-old woman who is trying to establish primary and obstetric care. Cory is scheduled to meet with Faiza to assist her in arranging for appropriate and timely care and to assess whether she needs other health-related resources. When Cory goes to the waiting room and calls Faiza’s name, a man rises from his seat, and only then does the young woman seated beside him move her head and stand. The woman, who is wearing a hijab head covering, walks behind the man to the front of the room where Cory is waiting. The man says, “She is Faiza.” Faiza does not look directly at Cory. Cory reaches his hand out to Faiza and says, “Hi, my name is Cory, and I’m the nurse you’re seeing today; nice to meet you.” Faiza does not look up and does not take Cory’s hand. She says nothing and takes a small step backward. The man, who appears to be upset, says, “She needs a woman nurse. And she does not speak English, but I always translate for her.”
- Why do you think the man with Faiza requests a woman nurse?
- Does anything about this scenario make you uncomfortable? If so, consider why.
- What additional information should Cory obtain before proceeding?
- How should Cory respond to the statements “She needs a woman nurse . . . she does not speak English . . . I always translate for her”?
- What does the client’s nonverbal communication (no eye contact, no handshaking, backward step) signify?
- If the clinic cannot provide this client with a woman nurse, how should Cory proceed?
- Do you think Cory should have done anything differently from the beginning?
(See Attum et al., 2022.)


14: Answer Keys Last updated Save as PDF Page ID 77076 Ernstmeyer & Christman (Eds.) Chippewa Valley Technical College via OpenRN 14.1: Chapter 11 (Oxygen Therapy) 14.2: Chapter 15 (Administration of Enteral Medications) 14.3: Chapter 16 (Administration of Medications via Other Routes) 14.4: Chapter 17 (Enteral Tube Management) 14.5: Chapter 18 (Administration of Parenteral Medications) 14.6: Chapter 19 (Specimen Collection) 14.7: Chapter 1 (General Survey) 14.8: Chapter 20 (Wound Care) 14.9: Chapter 21 (Facilitation of Elimination) 14.10: Chapter 22 (Tracheostomy Care and Suctioning) 14.11: Chapter 23 (IV Therapy Management) 14.12: Chapter 3 (Blood Pressure) 14.13: Chapter 4 (Aseptic Technique) Thumbnail: Puzzle pieces with the word 'Solution' on them. (Pixabay License; Gino Crescoli via Pixabay )


3: Review of Chemical Bonding
Learning Objectives
- Be able to draw Lewis dot structures, assign formal charges, predict molecular geometries (including bond angles), and calculate bond orders for molecules, including hypervalent molecules and ions.
- Describe hypervalent molecules using no-bond resonance.
- Understand and articulate how predictions of molecular structure and bonding can be experimentally verified.
- Learn to construct hybrid orbitals from s and p atomic orbitals.
- Use the isoelectronic principle to design new molecules and solids.
- Rationalize bond strength and chemical reactivity using bond polarity arguments.
- Interrelate bond length and bond strength.
There is no topic more fundamental to Chemistry than the nature of the chemical bond, and the introduction you find here will provide you with an overview of the fundamentals and a basis for further study.
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- 3.1: Prelude to Chemical Bonding
- Molecules (and extended solids) are built from atoms that form chemical bonds. Theories of bonding seek to explain why molecules and solids form, what their structures are, why some are more stable than others, and how they react. The theory of chemical bonding has a long history, dating back to ancient Greece and the atomists Democritus, Leucippus, and the Epicureans.


1.1: Project Overview
LibreTexts is a collaborative effort to improve education for students, especially economically-disadvantaged students, by constructing and distributing open-access online LibreTexts libraries. The project includes complementary ancillaries that advance a number of different pedagogical methods. It supports a highly diverse student population previously exposed to a broad range of learning experiences and with major differences in their skill levels, preparation, and background. In addition to providing up-to-date, peer-reviewed, affordable, and convenient content. LibreTexts, as a Next-generation learning system, promotes personalized, flexible, and interactive learning experiences. From these components, we will have a combined assessment infrastructure that tracks and correlates individual performance with simulations, homework activities, and exam performance with a goal of identifying and tracking student strengths and weakness to determine how best to amplify learning across multiple curricula. This is enabled by broad scope vertical and horizontal nature of the LibreTexts.
The success of the LibreTexts Project positively impacts four main populations in substantial ways: (1) Availability of free quality resources for learning by the non-academic community; (2) Reducing the financial burden on all students, especially lower socioeconomic status students, while simultaneously addressing any identified lack of preparation; (3) Smaller or financially disadvantaged academic institutions, including high schools, that increasingly wish to adopt newer learning technologies but cannot afford the initial buy-in to change curriculum; and (4) Discipline-based education researchers looking for a platform to evaluate interdisciplinary approaches and curriculum modifications that would otherwise cost too much to develop from scratch. For broader impacts, we propose will take advantage of the LibreTexts extensive dissemination network to provide equal education opportunities to students with limited English proficiency by expanding the libraries into Spanish language translations.
Traditional publishing of a textbook involves preparing a typeset manuscript for a commercial publisher, who binds it and distributes it, often at prices that make it inaccessible to students from less affluent institutions. However, online texts are superior to a paper text in several ways:
- Web browsers can jump to the page you click on, so even an 800 page book can be read in real time.
- The equations, sections, references and index cross-referencing can be hyperlinked, so students can effortlessly jump back and forth through the text.
- Traditionally, there are conflicts between conciseness (i.e., important ideas get across within reasonable reading time) and scholarly completeness. Online texts allow for branching into levels of detail suited to individual reader's interests, and providing up-to-date links to other relevant material.
- It is often more instructive to work through a solution of a problem than be given only the abstract theory. Online texts helps by providing links to student projects and problem solutions.
It is possible to have LibreTexts books printed by print-on-demand companies (both Amazon and LuluExpress output files are generated). A complete book takes often years to produce; however, the LibreTexts platform makes it possible to make accessible the (semi)completed parts as textbook construction proceeds. The LibreTexts project adopts an open construction approach since we strongly believe that is better to have educational content accessible to students and then continuously improve it, rather than refusing to share until the building and perfecting is completed.
Content on LibreTexts is either constructed from scratch or harvested from existing OER content, but most of it is integrated from existing content scattered across the internet. Content stored on individual faculty's websites, hidden in pdfs, or published has been integrated into the LibreTexts format, all with the original author's permission to publish the content under a free license that aligns with the free and accessible philosophy of the LibreTexts. Central to its success is the construction and adoption of faculty specific and freely accessible "LibreTexts" that substitute for costly conventional textbooks in post-secondary courses. These are assembled by incorporating content from an extensive network of existing chemistry and broader materials. We recently hosted a YouTube webinar to explain our project and scope:
Video \(\PageIndex{1}\): www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxLmeHMgvTg
The Construction guide aids developers in interacting with the LibreTexts platform and building content. To complement these resources, there is a Construction Forum for developers to help each other, which is freely available (however, a free account is needed to post) ( groups.io/g/Libretexts-ConstructionForum/topics ):
LibreVerse
The LibreTexts Libraries are part of a great "LibreVerse" of interconnected technologies to advance the development and usage of the textbook of the future. Many aspects of this greater LibreVerse will be introduced in this Construction Guide.
Supporting the libraries are a number of components (most require instructor accounts to access and are unlinked below)
- ADAPT – LibreTexts’ new homework system with integrated problem sets.
- Analytics - Linked to the Adapt homework system, LibreTexts’ Analytics have been designed by instructors for their students.
- Studio – LibreTexts’ H5P app for building questions that can be inserted into your LibreTexts.
- Nova - Drupal based FOSS tech allows local hosting of LibreTexts’ with native H5P, QTI and other courseware features.
- Commons – LibreTexts’ window on the world, access to Catalog, Libraries and Collections. Every LibreNet member has their own branded Campus Commons.
- Conductor – LibreTexts’ team oriented project management software coordinates book construction and curation.
- Composer – LibreTexts’ drag and drop remixer for books. LibreTexts’ editor provides paragraph level attribution, automatic numbering of equations and more.
- Curator – LibreTexts’ format allows centralized, automatic curation flagging common problems including lack of alt text, linkrot and more.
- Jupyter Hubs - provides an environment where you can create interactive notebooks with code, visualizations, and more.
- Support Center - Contact the LibreTexts Support Team for help, and explore featured insight articles and videos curated by the LibreTexts team.


5.1: Objectives
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You may have encountered the idea of popular sovereignty in a civics or political science course. This means that the people rule, as opposed to a monarch, dictator, clique of oligarchs, religious authorities, etc. When it comes to the economy, it is often said that consumers are sovereign. Consumer sovereignty is the idea that consumer choices rule the economy. A firm that provides a product or service that better meets consumer wants and needs is likely to succeed and be profitable. A firm that fails to do so will not remain in business very long, or so the theory goes. Evidence that businesses recognize the importance of consumer sovereignty is provided by placards common in many workplaces reminding employees that “the customer is always right.” This notion is also encapsulated in the Latin phrase, De gustibus non disputatum est , which translates into English as “tastes are not disputable”.
Consumer sovereignty helps explain the breadth of production and marketing activities observed in the economy. To illustrate, consider children’s breakfast cereals. Lots of money is spent on the packaging and promotion of these products. Even if it can be assumed that these cereals are good for children, a critic might argue that everyone would be better off if an entity was set up to simply take flour from oats, rice, corn, or wheat; add sugar and a binding agent; pellet it; and distribute it to families with children. Children would get the same nutrition regardless of whether there was a friendly looking pirate on the box and a cheap toy inside. The critic could argue that all the money that is spent on promoting these products is wasteful and contributes nothing to the nutritional well-being of children. These resources could instead be better used for a worthwhile cause like cancer research or public education. This critic may have a point, but consumer sovereignty suggests that if parents continue to vote with their purchases in favor of branded breakfast cereals (or if children have the power to influence their parents to do so), breakfast cereal companies will exist to meet this demand.
If consumers are sovereign, then it is probably a good idea to consider models of consumer behavior in a course like this. The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of some economic theories of the consumer. The first section addresses the neoclassical theory of the consumer. Two extensions of this theory that have particular resonance in food markets are covered next. One is Lancaster’s (1966) model, which emphasizes products as delivery mechanisms for characteristics. The other, Becker’s (1965) model, theorizes that market-sourced products are inputs for household production activities. All three of three of these models – the Neoclassical model, Lancaster’s model, and Becker’s model – are based on the idea that consumers are rationale. They know what they want and what is available. Moreover they can make choices that are best for them given what they are able to afford. The primary objectives of this chapter are as follows:
- Explain the main logic of consumer choice theory in terms of preferences and budget sets.
- Graph budget sets and budget frontiers, given price and income data, and explain what happens to the budget set as prices and/or income change.
- Outline the basic assumptions required for well-behaved preferences. Given a specific example, be able to determine whether these assumptions are satisfied.
- Describe the difference between ordinal utility and cardinal utility.
- Graphically derive individual demand functions.
- Diagram efficient consumption frontiers (Lancaster-type budget constraints) and identify products that are and are not competitive.
- Analyze how changes in price, income, and product characteristics affect consumer choice in Lancaster’s framework.
- Describe hedonic pricing models and identify characteristics to be included in a hedonic pricing model for a given product.
- Derive the full-time income constraint of Becker’s model.
- Use the logic of Becker’s model to explain consumer valuation of time-saving (convenience) built into food products.
- Use the logic of Lancaster’s and Becker’s models to analyze trends in food consumption.


8: Hypothesis Testing with One Sample
One job of a statistician is to make statistical inferences about populations based on samples taken from the population. Confidence intervals are one way to estimate a population parameter. Another way to make a statistical inference is to make a decision about a parameter. For instance, a car dealer advertises that its new small truck gets 35 miles per gallon, on average. A tutoring service claims that its method of tutoring helps 90% of its students get an A or a B. A company says that women managers in their company earn an average of $60,000 per year.
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- 8.1: Prelude to Hypothesis Testing
- A statistician will make a decision about claims via a process called "hypothesis testing." A hypothesis test involves collecting data from a sample and evaluating the data. Then, the statistician makes a decision as to whether or not there is sufficient evidence, based upon analysis of the data, to reject the null hypothesis.
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- 8.2: Null and Alternative Hypotheses
- The actual test begins by considering two hypotheses. They are called the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis. These hypotheses contain opposing viewpoints. Since the null and alternative hypotheses are contradictory, you must examine evidence to decide if you have enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis or not.
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- 8.3: Outcomes and the Type I and Type II Errors
- In every hypothesis test, the outcomes are dependent on a correct interpretation of the data. Incorrect calculations or misunderstood summary statistics can yield errors that affect the results. A Type I error occurs when a true null hypothesis is rejected. A Type II error occurs when a false null hypothesis is not rejected.
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- 8.4: Distribution Needed for Hypothesis Testing
- When testing for a single population mean: A Student's t-test should be used if the data come from a simple, random sample and the population is approximately normally distributed, or the sample size is large, with an unknown standard deviation. The normal test will work if the data come from a simple, random sample and the population is approximately normally distributed, or the sample size is large, with a known standard deviation.
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- 8.5: Rare Events, the Sample, Decision and Conclusion
- When the probability of an event occurring is low, and it happens, it is called a rare event. Rare events are important to consider in hypothesis testing because they can inform your willingness not to reject or to reject a null hypothesis. To test a null hypothesis, find the p-value for the sample data and graph the results.
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- 8.6: Hypothesis Test of a Single Population Mean with Examples
- The hypothesis test itself has an established process. This can be summarized as follows: Determine H0 and Ha. Remember, they are contradictory. Determine the random variable. Determine the distribution for the test. Draw a graph, calculate the test statistic, and use the test statistic to calculate the p-value. (A z-score and a t-score are examples of test statistics.) Compare the preconceived α with the p-value, make a decision (reject or do not reject H0), and write a clear conclusion.
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- 8.7: Hypothesis Test of Single Population Proportion with Examples
- The hypothesis test itself has an established process. This can be summarized as follows: Determine H0 and Ha. Remember, they are contradictory. Determine the random variable. Determine the distribution for the test. Draw a graph, calculate the test statistic, and use the test statistic to calculate the p-value. (A z-score and a t-score are examples of test statistics.) Compare the preconceived α with the p-value, make a decision (reject or do not reject H0), and write a clear conclusion.


6.16: Organizing an Informal Report
- Discuss the purpose of common sections of an informal report
- Determine how to organize an informal report based on audience analysis
Sections of Informal Reports
Informal informational reports typically include the following three sections:
- Introduction or background
- Support or reasons
- Summary
Informal analytical reports typically include the following four sections:
- Introduction or background
- Support or reasons
- Recommendations
- Conclusion or summary
Introduction or Background
A short section introducing the reader to the “why” of the report. In more complex reports, the introduction may include a background, a problem statement, specific objectives, or all of the above.
Support or Reasons
This is where you’ll include your facts, findings, and data. Writers new to reports may make the mistake of providing lists of data and other information found as a result of research. However, most business managers can find the information on their own with time. The purpose of this section of a report is to present a summary of main ideas from the research—it’s not simply a collection of raw data.
If more detailed data is needed, an appendix is the most likely place for key selections of raw data.
This section may include the methodology of the research.
Recommendations
This section is only found in analytical reports; it shows how data supports the recommendation given in the report. Essentially, the author connects the logical data items in a way that points to the recommendation.
Remember, the readers are expecting a recommendation with supporting data; they’re not expecting to work through all the data on their own.
Conclusion or Summary
This short section wraps up the report and gives a quick summary of the information provided therein.
Organizing based on Audience Analysis
The logic of report organization is the same as the logic discussed in Module 2 for shorter messages. Reports analyze the audience the same way. The difference lies in the depth of information needed. Thinking about your audience, or the stakeholders, is one of the most crucial considerations when creating a report. It’s important to keep in mind that your audience may be broader than you expect (remember the discussion on types of stakeholders from earlier this module): your potential readers have an interest in the report’s content for many reasons based on their unique job functions.
To determine which types of sections you should use in your informal report, think about the purpose of the report (these sections can take inspiration from the standardized sections used in formal reports, which we will discuss in-depth later) in relation to your audience.
Organizing Your Report
If your audience is expected to react neutrally or positively to your message, then your conclusion or recommendation should be offered near the beginning of the report. Thus, your report would be laid out like this. First you would write the introduction, background, or problem section. Next come your conclusions or recommendations. These are backed up by the support or reasons section, which details facts, data, or findings. The final section is typically some sort of further discussion, analysis, or summary. Remember that introducing these sections with a descriptive heading can help your readers, especially if the sections consist of multiple paragraphs.
If the audience is expected to react negatively to your message, then the conclusion or recommendation is offered towards the end of the report. This alternate organization allows the reader to reach a similar conclusion to yours based upon the research and logic offered. Thus, your report would be laid out like this: First you would write your introduction, background, or problem. The next section will be the support or reasons section, which details facts, data, or findings that led you to your conclusion. Next you would include discussion, analysis, or summary. This sections is where the logical or emotional arguments that may influence the reader’s understanding are made. Your report then concludes with your conclusions or recommendations. Remember that introducing these sections with a descriptive heading can help your readers, especially if the sections consist of multiple paragraphs.
Formatting the Report
While informal reports may not use extensive or standardized labeling of sections, nor do they have required length of individual sections, each section has a unique purpose. However, these “sections” may be a couple of paragraphs rather than a fully separated section with their own headings. As the report starts to exceed a page or two, headings will provide a tremendous benefit to the reader, and to you, as the reader better understands and retains your main ideas.
Take a look at these two dummy texts to compare the structure of an informal report without headings and an informal report that uses headings. (Note that these examples only show the formatting of a report, not the ideal way to write one.)
| No Headings | Using Headings |
|---|---|
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General Store is opening a new location in Q4 of this upcoming year. There are three potential locations for this new store. In my research, I found that location one is in a poorly trafficked area, but is more affordable. Location two is in a highly trafficked area, but is out of the current budget. Location three is just right. After this research, I can conclude that General Store should open its new store at location three. |
BackgroundGeneral Store is opening a new location in Q4 of this upcoming year. There are three potential locations for this new store. FindingsLocation one is in a poorly trafficked area, but is more affordable. Location two is in a highly trafficked area, but is out of the current budget. Location three is just right. RecommendationGeneral Store should open its new store at location three. |
Headings can be a useful tool for helping your readers navigate directly to the information they want. Notice that the headings catch your reader’s eye much more easily than phrases such as “in my research . . . ”
Contributors and Attributions
- Sections of Informal Reports. Authored by : Susan Kendall. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution