3.3: How You Learn
-
- Last updated
- Save as PDF
One of the first steps for becoming a successful student is to understand the learning process itself. Certain characteristics of effective learning, including the four-step learning cycle, are true of all people. At the same time, people have different learning styles. Understanding these processes is important for maximizing your own learning while in college.
The Learning Cycle: Four Steps to Learning
Adult learning is different from learning in primary and secondary school. In high school, teachers often take much of the responsibility for how students learn—encouraging learning with class discussions, repeating key material, creating study guides, and looking over students’ shoulders to make sure no one falls behind. In college, most of the responsibility for learning falls on the student. You’re free to fail—or succeed—as you choose. This applies as well to how well you learn.
Learning an academic subject means really understanding it, being able to think about it in meaningful ways and to apply that understanding in new situations. This is very different from simply memorizing something and repeating it back on a test. Academic learning occurs most effectively in a cycle of four steps:
- Preparing
- Absorbing
- Capturing
- Reviewing
Think first about the different situations in which you learn. Obviously you learn during class, whether by listening to the instructor speak or in class discussions in which you participate. But you also learn while reading your textbooks and other materials outside of class. You learn when you talk with an instructor during office hours. You learn by talking with other students informally in study groups. You learn when you study your class notes before an exam. All of these different learning situations involve the same four-step process.
Prepare
One student rolls out of bed a few minutes before class and dashes across campus and grabs the last seat in the hall just as the instructor begins a lecture; it takes him a few minutes to find the right notebook in his backpack, and then he can’t find a pencil. He’s thinking about how he should’ve set his alarm a little earlier so he’d have had time to grab a cup of coffee, since he’s having trouble waking up. Finally he settles in his seat and starts listening, but now he can’t figure out what the instructor is talking about. He starts jotting down phrases in his notes anyway, thinking he’ll figure it out later.
Another student looks over his notes from the previous class and quickly glances back at passages he’d highlighted in the textbook reading. He arrives at class a few minutes early, sits up front where he can hear well, and has his notebook open and pencil out. While waiting for the instructor to arrive, he talks to another student about her ideas for the paper due next week in this class.
It’s obvious which of these students will learn more during today’s class lecture. One has prepared and the other has not, and they will experience a huge difference in their understanding of today’s topic. Preparing to learn is the first step for learning. The same is true when you sit down to read your textbook, to study for an exam, or to work on an out-of-class project. Partly you are putting yourself in the right mind-set to learn. But when you review yesterday’s notes to prepare for today’s class, you are also solidifying yesterday’s learning.
Absorb
“Absorbing” refers to the actual taking in of new ideas, information, or experience. This is what happens at the moment a student listens to a class lecture or reads a textbook. In high school, this is sometimes the only learning step taken by some students. They listened to what the instructor said and “regurgitated” it back on the test. But this won’t work in college because learning now requires understanding the topic, not just repeating facts or information. In coming chapters you’ll get tips for improving in this step.
Capture
“Capturing” refers to taking notes. No matter how good your memory, you need to take good notes in college simply because there is so much to learn. Just hearing something once is seldom enough. You have to go back over the material again, sometimes several times again, thinking about it and seeing how it all fits together.
The more effective your note-taking skills, the better your learning abilities. Take notes also when reading your textbooks. You’ll learn methods for taking good notes in later chapters.
Review
The step of reviewing—your class notes, your textbook reading and notes, and any other course materials possibly including recordings, online media, podcasts, and so on—is the next step for solidifying your learning and reaching a real understanding of the topic. Reviewing is also a way to prepare for new information and ideas. That’s why this is a learning cycle: the end of the process loops back to the beginning as you prepare for additional learning.
Reviewing is also the step in which you discover whether you really understand the material. If you do not understand something fully, you may need to reread a section of the book, talk it over with a friend in the class, or go see your instructor.
What’s Your Learning Style?
Different people have different learning styles. Style refers to a student’s specific learning preferences and actions. One student may learn more effectively from listening to the instructor. Another learns more effectively from reading the textbook, while another student benefits most from charts, graphs, and images the instructor presents during a lecture.
Learning style is important in college. Each different style, described later in more detail, has certain advantages and disadvantages compared with other styles. None is “right” or “wrong.” You can learn to use your own style more effectively.
College instructors also have different teaching styles, which may or may not match up well with your learning style. Although you may personally learn best from a certain style of teaching, you cannot expect that your instructors will use exactly the style that is best for you. Therefore it is important to know how to adapt to teaching styles used in college.
Different systems have been used to describe the different ways in which people learn. Some describe the differences between how extroverts (outgoing, gregarious, social people) and introverts (quiet, private, contemplative people) learn. Some divide people into “thinkers” and “feelers.” A popular theory of different learning styles is Howard Gardner’s “multiple intelligences,” based on eight different types of intelligence:
- Verbal (prefers words)
- Logical (prefers math and logical problem solving)
- Visual (prefers images and spatial relationships)
- Kinesthetic (prefers body movements and doing)
- Rhythmic (prefers music, rhymes)
- Interpersonal (prefers group work)
- Intrapersonal (prefers introspection and independence)
- Naturalist (prefers nature, natural categories)
The multiple intelligences approach recognizes that different people have different ways, or combinations of ways, of relating to the world.
Another approach to learning styles is called the VARK approach, which focuses on learning through different senses ( V isual, A ural, R eading/Writing, and K inesthetic):
- Visual learners prefer images, charts, and the like.
- Aural learners learn better by listening.
- Reading/writing learners learn better through written language.
- Kinesthetic learners learn through doing, practicing, and acting.
You can take a free, self-scored online assessment of your VARK learning style at VARK(opens in new window) [www.businessballs.com] .
There are still more systems used by educators to describe the various ways in which people learn. All of these systems can help you learn more about how you as an individual person and college student learn best. You can use the online assessment in the “Outside the Book” section at the end of this chapter to learn more about your style.
Just knowing your style, however, doesn’t automatically provide a solution for how to do your best in your college courses. For example, although you may be a kinesthetic learner, you’ll likely still have textbook reading assignments (verbal learning) as well as lecture classes (listening). All students need to adapt to other ways of learning.
The Truth about Learning Styles
In many ways these ideas about learning styles made some sense. Because of this, educators encouraged students to find out about their own learning styles. They developed tests and other techniques to help students determine which particular sense they preferred to use for learning, and in some cases learning materials were produced in multiple ways that focused on each of the different senses. That way, each individual learner could participate in learning activities that were tailored to their specific preferences.
While it initially seemed that dividing everyone by learning styles provided a leap forward in education, continued research began to show that the fixation on this new model might not have been as effective as it was once thought. In fact, in some cases, the way learning styles were actually being used created roadblocks to learning. This was because the popularization of this new idea brought on a rush to use learning styles in ways that failed to take into account several important aspects that are listed below:
- A person does not always prefer the same learning style all the time or for each situation. For example, some learners might enjoy lectures during the day but prefer reading in the evenings. Or they may prefer looking at diagrams when learning about mechanics but prefer reading for history topics.
- There are more preferences involved in learning than just the three that became popular. These other preferences can become nearly impossible to make use of within certain styles. For example, some prefer to learn in a more social environment that includes interaction with other learners. Reading can be difficult or restrictive as a group effort. Recognized learning styles beyond the original three include: social (preferring to learn as a part of group activity), solitary (preferring to learn alone or using self-study), or logical (preferring to use logic, reasoning, etc.).
- Students that thought they were limited to a single preferred learning style found themselves convinced that they could not do as well with content that was presented in a way that differed from their style. 8 For example, a student that had identified as a visual learner might feel they were at a significant disadvantage when listening to a lecture. Sometimes they even believed they had an even greater impairment that prevented them from learning that way at all.
- Some forms of learning are extremely difficult in activities delivered in one style or another. Subjects like computer programming would be almost impossible to learn using an aural learning style. And, while it is possible to read about a subject such as how to swing a bat or how to do a medical procedure, actually applying that knowledge in a learning environment is difficult if the subject is something that requires a physical skill.
The following sections look at the key ways in which learning occurs in college classes and offer some suggestions about how to adapt your strengths for success.
Reading
Reading skills are critically important in college. Most classes involve reading assignments. Although many instructors may cover some of the textbook’s content in lectures or class discussions, students cannot skip the reading assignments and expect to do well.
If your personal learning style is verbal and independent—that is, if you learn well by sitting alone and reading—then you will likely not have difficulty with your college reading. Here are some tips to help maximize your learning:
- Underline and highlight key ideas when reading.
- Take good notes on your reading, using your own words.
- Write descriptions that summarize information presented in nonverbal modes, such as through charts and graphs.
- Do all optional and supplemental readings.
- Take good notes in class, as you may remember more from your written words than from the instructor’s spoken words.
- If a class involves significant nonreading learning, such as learning hands-on physical processes, study with other students who are kinesthetic or “doing” learners.
If you have a different learning style, then you may need to give more attention to your reading skills. Always allow plenty of time for reading assignments—rushing makes it harder to understand what you are reading. Do your reading at times of the day when you are most alert. Find a quiet, comfortable place conducive to reading.
Try also to maximize your learning through your personal style. If you learn better by listening, for example, sit up front in lecture classes where you can see and hear the instructor better. If needed, ask if you can tape-record an instructor’s lectures and then listen again at a convenient time, such as when commuting to class or work. If you are more of a visual learner, sit in class where you can see PowerPoint slides and other visual presentations most clearly. Check out whether video podcasts may be available for reviewing lectures. Try to relate all of these visual images to the textbook’s content when you’re reading an assignment. In addition, pay special attention to illustrations and diagrams in the book, which will further help you understand the written ideas and information. If you are more of an interpersonal learner, form a study group with other students and talk with others about the course topics. Take advantage of your instructors’ office hours to help clarify your understanding after reading assignments.
Listening
Listening skills are as important in college as reading skills. College students are expected to listen to their instructors in class and remember and understand what is said. In discussion classes, listening is important also for participating well in discussions.
If your personal learning style favors listening, then you may already be good at understanding class lectures. Vanderbilt University provides tips to help you pay close attention, take good notes, and recall the information and ideas you have heard. Here are some more tips:
- Sit where you can best hear the instructor, away from other distractions.
- Study with other students and listen to what they say about the course material. Hearing them talk from their class notes may be more helpful than reviewing your own written notes.
- Record lectures and listen to them again later when reviewing material before a test.
- When studying, read your notes aloud. Review previous tests by reading the questions aloud and speaking your answers. If a section in your textbook seems confusing, read it aloud.
- Talk with your instructor if you feel you are not understanding course readings.
- Use rhymes or acronyms to recall verbal information.
- Explore supplemental learning aids, such as audio and video podcasts (even from other colleges and universities) on the course’s subject matter.
Seeing
A “seeing” learner learns more effectively through seeing than through reading or listening. Some college courses include demonstrations and physical processes that can be observed. If you are a visual learner, work on developing your reading and listening skills, too, because you will need to learn in these ways as well. Here are some tips to improve learning related to seeing:
- Pay special attention in class to visual presentations, such as charts, diagrams, and images.
- Take lecture notes using a visual approach. Do the same when taking notes on class readings. Use diagrams, different colors, lists, and sketches to help you remember.
- Use video podcasts or other visual aids for reviewing lectures.
- Pay special attention to your textbooks’ illustrations and diagrams.
- If your instructor or textbook uses few visuals to help you understand and recall information and ideas, try to imagine how you would present this information visually to others if you were giving a class presentation. In your notes, create sketches for a PowerPoint slideshow capturing the highlights of the material.
- Study with other students who may learn better by reading or listening, and watch how they explain the material.
Doing
People who learn best by doing are often attracted to careers with a strong physical or hands-on component, which can vary from athletics to engineering. But these students may need to use other learning skills as well. Here are some tips to help maximize your learning related to doing:
- Try to engage all your senses when learning. Even when reading about something, try to imagine what it would feel like if you touched it, how it might smell, how you could physically manipulate it, and so forth.
- Think about how you yourself would teach the topic you are presently learning. What visuals could you make to demonstrate the idea or information? Imagine a class lecture as a train of boxcars and think about what things you would put in those cars to represent the lecture topics.
- When it becomes difficult to concentrate when reading while sitting in a quiet place, get up and move around while studying; make gestures as you read aloud.
- Use your hands to create a range of study aids rather than just taking notes: make charts, posters, flash cards, and so on.
- When taking notes, sketch familiar shapes around words and phrases to help you remember them. Try to associate abstract ideas with concrete examples.
- The act of writing—handwriting more than typing at a keyboard—may increase retention; write key things several times.
- Study with other students who may learn better by reading or listening.
Feeling
Feeling learners focus on the emotional side of information and learn through personal connections. Too often they may feel that a college textbook or a class is “dry” or “boring” if it focuses exclusively on written information. In addition to improving their reading and listening skills, students with this style can enrich their learning by focusing on what they and others feel about the information and ideas being learned. Here are some tips to help maximize your learning related to feeling:
- Try to establish an emotional connection with the topic you are learning. In a history class, for example, imagine yourself as someone living in the period you are studying: what would you feel about the forces at work in your life? In a science class, think about what the implications of a particular scientific principle or discovery might mean for you as a person or how you yourself might have felt if you had been the scientist making that discovery.
- Talk with your instructor during office hours. Express your enthusiasm and share your feelings about the subject. Even instructors who may seem “dry” in a lecture class often share their feelings toward their subject in conversation.
- Do supplemental reading about the people involved in a subject you’re studying. For example, reading an online biographical sketch of a historical figure, scientist, or theorist may open your eyes to a side of the subject you hadn’t seen before and increase your learning.
- Study with other students who may learn better by reading or listening. Talk with them in a personal way about what the material means to them. Try teaching them about the topic while explaining your feelings about it.
- Also try the strategies listed for the “doing” learning style.
Your Style, Your Instructor’s Style
Many college classes tend to focus on certain learning styles. Instructors in large lecture classes, for example, generally emphasize listening carefully and reading well. Don’t worry, however, if these are not your particular strengths, for much of this book focuses on learning study skills and other college skills related to these activities. Take responsibility for your own learning, rather than expecting the instructor to help you through the subject in your own personal way. For example, if you are a visual learner but your instructor simply stands at a podium and lectures, then provide your own visual stimulation by sketching concept maps in your notes or by visualizing how information being presented might look in a pie chart or graph.
As you move further into your college curriculum, you will likely have more small classes with class discussions, demonstrations, group presentations, and other learning activities. Once you are in classes closely related to a career path that interests you, you will find your personal style more relevant to the kinds of material you will be learning.
Much learning in college also comes from interactions with others, who often have different learning styles. Be open to interacting with other students and instructors who are different from you, and you will find yourself learning in ways that may be new to you.
Finally, if a genuine mismatch is occurring between your learning style and your instructor’s teaching style to the extent that you may not succeed in a course, talk to your instructor privately during office hours. You can explain how you best learn and ask for suggestions about other resources that may help you.
What about Students with Disabilities?
Students with disabilities are sometimes the most informed when it comes to making decisions about their own learning. They should understand that it is in their best interest to take ownership of their own approach to education, especially when it comes to leveraging resources and opportunities. In this section, you will learn about the laws that regulate education for students with disabilities as well as look at some resources that are available to them.
Just like anyone else, under the law, qualified students with disabilities are entitled to the same education colleges and universities provide to students without disabilities. Even though a particular disability may make attending college more difficult, awareness on the part of the government, learning institutions, and the students themselves has brought about a great deal of change over the years. Now, students with disabilities find that they have available appropriate student services, campus accessibility, and academic resources that can make school attendance and academic success possible.
Due to this increased support and advocacy, colleges have seen an increase of students with disabilities. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2012, 11.1 percent of the total undergraduate population in the United States was made up of people with disabilities. 9
The Legal Rights of Students with Disabilities
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protects students “with a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities.” 10 Learning definitely falls within the definition of major life activities.
In addition to Section 504, another set of laws that greatly help learners with disabilities is the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (also known as ADA). Both of these acts have been driving forces in making certain that students with disabilities have equal access to higher education, and they have been instrumental in helping educators looking for new ways and resources to provide services that do just that.
What follows is a list of services that schools commonly provide to help students with disabilities. These are often referred to as ADA accommodations and are named after the American with Disabilities Act:
- Recordings of class lectures or lecture transcription by in-class note takers
- Text readers or other technologies that can deliver content in another format
- Test or assessment accommodations
- Interpreter services and Braille transcriptions
- Physical access accommodations
- Accommodations of time and due dates
Most colleges will have policies and staff that are designated to help arrange for these types of accommodations. They are often found within the Department of Student Services or in related departments within your college campus. If you are a student with disabilities protected under these acts, it is in your best interest to contact the person responsible for ADA accommodations at your school. Even if you decide that you do not need accommodations, it is a good idea to find out about any services and policies the school has in place.
Organizations
In addition to the accommodations that schools commonly provide, there are also a number of national and local organizations that can provide assistance and advice when it comes to being a student with a disability. If you fit into this category, it is recommended that you make contact with one or more of these organizations in order to find out how they can help. These can be tremendously beneficial resources that offer everything from information and support to simple social connections that can make pursuing a formal education easier.
Footnotes
- Harold Pashler, Mark McDaniel, Doug Rohrer and Robert Bjork. Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Vol. 9, No. 3 (December 2008).
- U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Digest of Education Statistics, 2017 (2018-070), Chapter 3.
- U.S. Department of Education. Protecting Students with Disabilities: Frequently Asked Questions at Ed.gov [www2.ed.gov]
Key Takeaways
- People learn through a four-step process, and you can maximize your learning by conscientiously applying all steps throughout college.
- The first step of the learning cycle is to prepare in advance for classes, reading, tests, and other learning.
- The second step is to absorb information and ideas effectively during classes, reading, and other learning experiences.
- The third step, capturing, typically involves taking notes on the learning experience to increase understanding and retention.
- The fourth step is to review your notes, to help solidify the learning and to prepare for repeating the cycle in the next class or reading assignment.
- People have natural learning preferences, affecting how they learn best, such as learning by reading, by listening, by seeing, by doing, and by feeling.
- Students should learn how to use their own learning style to their best advantage while also becoming flexible and working to develop other learning styles.
- Because your learning style may not match your instructor’s teaching style, you need to be flexible and work to develop new learning strategies essential for college success.
Checkpoint Exercises
-
Number each the following actions to put them in the correct order of the four steps of the learning cycle:
- ___ Review your class notes to make sure you understand.
- ___ Listen carefully to what your instructor says.
- ___ Prepare for today’s class by looking over your notes on the reading you did for today.
- ___ Take effective notes.
-
How would you describe your personal learning style?
__________________________________________________________________
Name an activity from which you generally learn very well.
__________________________________________________________________
Name a type of learning experience you may have difficulty with.
__________________________________________________________________
For the activity above, list at least two strategies you can use to improve your learning effectiveness when in that situation next time.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
-
If you experience a situation in which your personal learning style seems to clash hopelessly with an instructor’s teaching style, what is your best course of action?
- Ask the instructor to teach in a different way.
- Drop the class.
- Adapt your style or study with other students.
- Complain to the dean.


|
Key Terms
|
Definition
|
|
Conditional Probability
|
the likelihood that an event will occur given that another event has already occurred.
|
|
decay parameter
|
The decay parameter describes the rate at which probabilities decay to zero for increasing values of \(x\). It is the value m in the probability density function \(f(x)=m e^{(-m x)}\) of an exponential random variable. It is also equal to \(m = \frac{1}{\mu}\), where \(\mu\) is the mean of the random variable.
|
|
Exponential Distribution
|
a continuous random variable (RV) that appears when we are interested in the intervals of time between some random events, for example, the length of time between emergency arrivals at a hospital. The mean is \(\mu = \frac{1}{m}\) and the standard deviation is \(\sigma = \frac{1}{m}\). The probability density function is \(f(x)=m e^{-m x} \text { or } f(x)=\frac{1}{\mu} e^{-\frac{1}{\mu} x}, x \geq 0\) and the cumulative distribution function is \(P(X \leq x)=1-e^{-m x} \text { or } P(X \leq x)=1-e^{-\frac{1}{\mu} x}\).
|
|
memoryless property
|
For an exponential random variable \(X\), the memoryless property is the statement that knowledge of what has occurred in the past has no effect on future probabilities. This means that the probability that \(X\) exceeds \(x + t\), given that it has exceeded \(x\), is the same as the probability that \(X\) would exceed t if we had no knowledge about it. In symbols we say that \(P(X > x + t|X > x) = P(X > t)\).
|
|
Poisson distribution
|
If there is a known average of \mu events occurring per unit time, and these events are independent of each other, then the number of events X occurring in one unit of time has the Poisson distribution. The probability of x events occurring in one unit time is equal to \(P(X=x)=\frac{\mu^{x} e^{-\mu}}{x !}\).
|
|
Uniform Distribution
|
a continuous random variable (RV) that has equally likely outcomes over the domain, \(a < x < b\); it is often referred as the rectangular distribution because the graph of the pdf has the form of a rectangle. The mean is \(\mu=\frac{a+b}{2}\) and the standard deviation is \(\sigma=\sqrt{\frac{(b-a)^{2}}{12}}\). The probability density function is \(f(x)=\frac{1}{b-a} \text { for } a
|


4.5: Monotone Function
A function \(f : A \rightarrow E^{*},\) with \(A \subseteq E^{*},\) is said to be nondecreasing on a set \(B \subseteq A\) iff
\[x \leq y\text{ implies } f(x) \leq f(y)\text{ for } x, y \in B.\]
It is said to be nonincreasing on \(B\) iff
\[x \leq y\text{ implies } f(x) \geq f(y)\text{ for } x, y \in B.\]
Notation: \(f \uparrow\) and \(f \downarrow(\text { on } B),\) respectively.
In both cases, \(f\) is said to be monotone or monotonic on \(B.\) If \(f\) is also one to one on \(B\) (i.e., when restricted to \(B\)), we say that it is strictly monotone (increasing if \(f \uparrow\) and decreasing if \(f \downarrow\)).
Clearly, \(f\) is nondecreasing iff the function \(-f=(-1) f\) is nonincreasing. Thus in proofs, we need consider only the case \(f \uparrow\). The case \(f \downarrow\) reduces to it by applying the result to \(-f.\)
If a function \(f : A \rightarrow E^{*}\left(A \subseteq E^{*}\right)\) is monotone on \(A,\) it has a left and a right (possibly infinite) limit at each point \(p \in E^{*}\).
In particular, if \(f \uparrow\) on an interval \((a, b) \neq \emptyset,\) then
\[f\left(p^{-}\right)=\sup _{a<x<p} f(x)\text{ for } p \in(a, b]\]
and
\[f\left(p^{+}\right)=\inf _{p<x<b} f(x)\text{ for } p \in[a, b).\]
(In case \(f \downarrow,\) interchange "sup" and "inf.")
- Proof
-
To fix ideas, assume \(f \uparrow\).
Let \(p \in E^{*}\) and \(B=\{x \in A | x<p\} .\) Put \(q=\sup f[B]\) (this sup always exists in \(E^{*} ;\) see Chapter 2, §13). We shall show that \(q\) is a left limit of \(f\) at \(p\) (i.e., a left limit over \(B\)).
There are three possible cases:
(1) If \(q\) is finite, any globe \(G_{q}\) is an interval \((c, d), c<q<d,\) in \(E^{1}\). As \(c<q=\sup f[B], c\) cannot be an upper bound of \(f[B]\) (why?, so \(c\) is exceeded by some \(f\left(x_{0}\right), x_{0} \in B.\) Thus
\[c<f\left(x_{0}\right), x_{0}<p.\]
Hence as \(f \uparrow,\) we certainly have
\[c<f\left(x_{0}\right) \leq f(x)\text{ for all } x>x_{0}\text{ }(x \in B).\]
Moreover, as \(f(x) \in f[B],\) we have
\[f(x) \leq \sup f[B]=q<d,\]
so \(c<f(x)<d ;\) i.e., \(f(x) \in(c, d)=G_{q}\).
We have thus shown that
\[\left(\forall G_{q}\right)\left(\exists x_{0}<p\right)\left(\forall x \in B | x_{0}<x\right) \quad f(x) \in G_{q},\]
so \(q\) is a left limit at \(p\).
(2) If \(q=+\infty,\) the same proof works with \(G_{q}=(c,+\infty].\) Verify!
(3) If \(q=-\infty,\) then
\[(\forall x \in B) \quad f(x) \leq \sup f[B]=-\infty,\]
i.e., \(f(x) \leq-\infty,\) so \(f(x)=-\infty\) (constant) on \(B\). Hence \(q\) is also a left limit at \(p\) (§1, Example (a)).
In particular, if \(f \uparrow\) on \(A=(a, b)\) with \(a, b \in E^{*}\) and \(a<b,\) then \(B=\) \((a, p)\) for \(p \in(a, b] .\) Here \(p\) is a cluster point of the path \(B\) (Chapter 3, §14, Example (h)), so a unique left limit \(f\left(p^{-}\right)\) exists. By what was shown above,
\[q=f\left(p^{-}\right)=\sup f[B]=\sup _{a<x<p} f(x),\text{ as claimed.}\]
Thus all is proved for left limits.
The proof for right limits is quite similar; one only has to set
\[B=\{x \in A | x>p\}, q=\inf f[B] . \quad \square\]
Note 1. The second clause of Theorem 1 holds even if \((a, b)\) is only a subset of \(A,\) for the limits in question are not affected by restricting \(f\) to \((a, b).\) (Why?) The endpoints \(a\) and \(b\) may be finite or infinite.
Note 2. If \(D_{f}=A=N\) (the naturals), then by definition, \(f : N \rightarrow E^{*}\) is a sequence with general term \(x_{m}=f(m), m \in N\) (see §1, Note 2). Then setting \(p=+\infty\) in the proof of Theorem 1, we obtain Theorem 3 of Chapter 3, §15. (Verify!)
The exponential function \(F : E^{1} \rightarrow E^{1}\) to the base \(a>0\) is given by
\[F(x)=a^{x}.\]
It is monotone (Chapter 2, §§11-12, formula (1)), so \(F\left(0^{-}\right)\) and \(F\left(0^{+}\right)\) exist. By the sequential criterion (Theorem 1 of §2), we may use a suitable sequence to find \(F\left(0^{+}\right),\) and we choose \(x_{m}=\frac{1}{m} \rightarrow 0^{+}.\) Then
\[F\left(0^{+}\right)=\lim _{m \rightarrow \infty} F\left(\frac{1}{m}\right)=\lim _{m \rightarrow \infty} a^{1 / m}=1\]
(see Chapter 3, §15, Problem 20).
Similarly, taking \(x_{m}=-\frac{1}{m} \rightarrow 0^{-},\) we obtain \(F\left(0^{-}\right)=1.\) Thus
\[F\left(0^{+}\right)=F\left(0^{-}\right)=\lim _{x \rightarrow 0} F(x)=\lim _{x \rightarrow 0} a^{x}=1.\]
(See also Problem 12 of §2.)
Next, fix any \(p \in E^{1} .\) Noting that
\[F(x)=a^{x}=a^{p+x-p}=a^{p} a^{x-p},\]
we set \(y=x-p.\) (Why is this substitution admissible?) Then \(y \rightarrow 0\) as \(x \rightarrow p,\) so we get
\[\lim _{x \rightarrow p} F(x)=\lim a^{p} \cdot \lim _{x \rightarrow p} a^{x-p}=a^{p} \lim _{y \rightarrow 0} a^{y}=a^{p} \cdot 1=a^{p}=F(p).\]
As \(\lim _{x \rightarrow p} F(x)=F(p), F\) is continuous at each \(p \in E^{1}.\) Thus all exponentials are continuous.
If a function \(f : A \rightarrow E^{*}\left(A \subseteq E^{*}\right)\) is nondecreasing on a finite or infinite interval \(B=(a, b) \subseteq A\) and if \(p \in(a, b),\) then
\[f\left(a^{+}\right) \leq f\left(p^{-}\right) \leq f(p) \leq f\left(p^{+}\right) \leq f\left(b^{-}\right),\]
and for no \(x \in(a, b)\) do we have
\[f\left(p^{-}\right)<f(x)<f(p)\text{ or } f(p)<f(x)<f\left(p^{+}\right) ;\]
similarly in case \(f \downarrow\) (with all inequalities reversed).
- Proof
-
By Theorem 1, \(f \uparrow\) on \((a, p)\) implies
\[f\left(a^{+}\right)=\inf _{a<x<p} f(x)\text{ and } f\left(p^{-}\right)=\sup _{a<x<p} f(x);\]
thus certainly \(f\left(a^{+}\right) \leq f\left(p^{-}\right).\) As \(f \uparrow,\) we also have \(f(p) \geq f(x)\) for all \(x \in\) \((a, p);\) hence
\[f(p) \geq \sup _{a<x<p} f(x)=f\left(p^{-}\right).\]
Thus
\[f\left(a^{+}\right) \leq f\left(p^{-}\right) \leq f(p);\]
similarly for the rest of (1).
Moreover, if \(a<x<p,\) then \(f(x) \leq f\left(p^{-}\right)\) since
\[f\left(p^{-}\right)=\sup _{a<x<p} f(x).\]
If, however, \(p \leq x<b,\) then \(f(p) \leq f(x)\) since \(f \uparrow\). Thus we never have \(f\left(p^{-}\right)<f(x)<f(p).\) similarly, one excludes \(f(p)<f(x)<f(x)<f\left(p^{+}\right) .\) This completes the proof. \(\square\)
Note 3. If \(f\left(p^{-}\right), f\left(p^{+}\right),\) and \(f(p)\) exist (all finite), then
\[\left|f(p)-f\left(p^{-}\right)\right|\text{ and } \left|f\left(p^{+}\right)-f(p)\right|\]
are called, respectively, the left and right jumps of \(f\) at \(p;\) their sum is the (total) jump at \(p.\) If \(f\) is monotone, the jump equals \(\left|f\left(p^{+}\right)-f\left(p^{-}\right)\right|.\)
For a graphical example, consider Figure 14 in §1. Here \(f(p)=f\left(p^{-}\right)\) (both finite \(),\) so the left jump is \(0.\) However, \(f\left(p^{+}\right)>f(p),\) so the right jump is greater than \(0.\) Since
\[f(p)=f\left(p^{-}\right)=\lim _{x \rightarrow p^{-}} f(x),\]
\(f\) is left continuous (but not right continuous) at \(p\).
If \(f : A \rightarrow E^{*}\) is monotone on a finite or infinite interval \((a, b)\) contained in \(A,\) then all its discontinuities in \((a, b),\) if any, are "jumps," that
is, points \(p\) at which \(f\left(p^{-}\right)\) and \(f\left(p^{+}\right)\) exist, but \(f\left(p^{-}\right) \neq f(p)\) or \(f\left(p^{+}\right) \neq f(p).\)
- Proof
-
By Theorem 1, \(f\left(p^{-}\right)\) and \(f\left(p^{+}\right)\) exist at each \(p \in(a, b)\).
If, in addition, \(f\left(p^{-}\right)=f\left(p^{+}\right)=f(p),\) then
\[\lim _{x \rightarrow p} f(x)=f(p)\]
by Corollary 3 of §1, so f is continuous at \(p\). Thus discontinuities occur only if \(f\left(p^{-}\right) \neq f(p)\) or \(f\left(p^{+}\right) \neq f(p). \square\)


19.1: Chapter Objectives and Preview of Carbonyl Chemistry
-
- Last updated
- Save as PDF
Objectives
- fulfill all of the detailed objectives listed under each individual section.
- design a multi‑step synthesis in which you may have to use any of the reactions discussed in this chapter together with any number of reactions from previous chapters.
- solve “road‑map” problems that require a knowledge of the chemistry of aldehydes and ketones.
- use evidence from any combination of infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy and chemical reactions to determine the structure of an unknown aldehyde or ketone.
- define, and use in context, the key terms introduced in this chapter.
In 1969 the molecule formaldehyde was discovered to be the first polyatomic organic molecule present in interstellar space by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The reactivity of formaldehyde gives it a wide variety of uses from embalming fluid to finger nail polish. Formaldehyde contain a C=O bond called a carbonyl, which is fundamental to study of organic chemistry. In this chapter we will begin a multi-chapter discussion on the chemistry of the carbonyl bond starting with aldehyde and ketone functional groups.
formaldehyde
In Chapter 19, we make a comprehensive study of the chemistry of aldehydes and ketones. Aldehydes and ketones are discussed together because their chemistry is very similar. However, as you work through the chapter, be sure to look for specific instances where the chemistry of these two classes of compounds differs.
As usual, we begin the chapter with a discussion of nomenclature. This introduction is followed by descriptions of the methods used to prepare aldehydes and ketones in the laboratory. You will notice that a number of these reactions have already appeared in previous units. Note that an important difference between aldehydes and ketones is the resistance of ketones to oxidation.
A large part of this chapter is concerned with the addition of various nucleophiles to the carbonyl group of aldehydes and ketones. In particular, we discuss the addition of a variety of nitrogen‑containing compounds, alcohols and phosphorus ylides. Many of these reactions are important to chemists concerned primarily with the synthesis of new organic compounds.
We also describe the Cannizzaro reaction and conjugate addition to α , β ‑unsaturated carbonyl compounds. We mention the occurrence of nucleophilic addition reactions in biological systems, and conclude the unit with a look at the use of spectroscopic techniques in the analysis of aldehydes and ketones.
Preview of Carbonyl Chemistry
Aldehydes and ketones are organic compounds which incorporate a carbonyl functional group, C=O. The carbon atom of this group has two remaining bonds that may be occupied by hydrogen, alkyl or aryl substituents. If at least one of these substituents is hydrogen, the compound is an aldehyde. If both are carbons, the compound is a ketone.
Because of the greater electronegativity of oxygen, the carbonyl group is polar, and aldehydes and ketones have larger molecular dipole moments (D) than do alkenes. The resonance structures below illustrate this polarity, and the relative dipole moments of formaldehyde, other aldehydes and ketones.
This polarity causes the carbonyl carbon to be partially positive (electrophillic) and the oxygen partially negative (nucleophillic). The C=O bond is prone to nucleophillic attack because or carbon's positive charge and oxygen's negative charge. In general, nucleophiles attack the electrophilic carbon and become a part of the structure while the oxygen is protonated forming a hydroxyl group.
Aldehydes and ketones are widespread in nature and are often combined with other functional groups. Examples of naturally occurring molecules which contain an aldehyde or ketone functional group are shown in the following two figures. The compounds in the figure 1 are found chiefly in plants or microorganisms and those in the figure 2 have animal origins. Many of these molecular structures are chiral.
When chiral compounds are found in nature they are usually enantiomerically pure, although different sources may yield different enantiomers. For example, carvone is found as its levorotatory (R)-enantiomer in spearmint oil, whereas, caraway seeds contain the dextrorotatory (S)-enantiomer. In this case the change of the stereochemistry causes a drastic change in the perceived scent. Aldehydes and ketones are known for their sweet and sometimes pungent odors. The odor from vanilla extract comes from the molecule vanillin. Likewise, benzaldehyde provides a strong scent of almonds and is this author’s favorite chemical smell. Because of their pleasant fragrances aldehyde and ketone containing molecules are often found in perfumes. However, not all of the fragrances are pleasing. In particular, 2-heptanone provides part of the sharp scent from blue cheese and (R)-muscone is part of the musky smell from the Himalayan musk deer. Lastly, ketones show up in many important hormones such as progesterone (a female sex hormone) and testosterone (a male sex hormone). Notice how subtle differences in structure can cause drastic changes in biological activity. The ketone functionality also shows up in the anti-inflammatory steroid, cortisone.
Contributors and Attributions
- William Reusch, Professor Emeritus (Michigan State U.), Virtual Textbook of Organic Chemistry
- Layne Morsch (University of Illinois Springfield)


14.15: References
About sexual assault . National Sexual Violence Resource Center. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.nsvrc.org/about-sexual-assault
AgeofConsent.net. (n.d.). United States age of consent map . AgeofConsent. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.ageofconsent.net/states
Baron, L., & Straus, M. A. (1989). Four theories of rape in American society: A state-level analysis . New Haven, CT: Yale University Press; Sanday, P. R. (1981). The socio-cultural context of rape: A cross-cultural study. Journal of Social Issues, 37 , 5–27.
Berdahl, J. L. & Moore, C. (2006). Workplace Harassment: Double Jeopardy for Minority Women. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(2),426-436.
Bertele, N., & Talmon, A. (2021). Sibling Sexual Abuse: A Review of Empirical Studies in the Field. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse . https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380211030244
Caffaro, J. (2017). Treating Adult Survivors of Sibling Sexual Abuse: A Relational-Strengths Based Approach. Journal of Family Violence , 32: 543-552.
Emba, C. (2015, October 12). Affirmative consent: A Primer . The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...sent-a-primer/
Finkelhorn, D. (1990). Early and long Term Effects of Child Sexual Abuse: An Update. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. 21, 325-330.
Fisher, B. S., Cullen, F. T., & Turner, M. G. (2000).  Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice and Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice; Gross, A. M., Winslett, A., Roberts, M., & Gohm, C. L. (2006).  Violence Against Women, 12 , 288–300.
Franiuk, R., Seefelt, J., & Vandello, J. (2008). Prevalence of rape myths in headlines and their effects on attitudes toward rape. Sex Roles, 58 (11/12), 790–801. doi:10.1007/s11199-007-9372-4.
Frank, E., Brogan, D., & Schiffman, M. (1998). Prevalence and correlates of harassment among U.S. women physicians. Archives of Internal Medicine, 158 (4), 352–358.
Legal role of consent . RAINN. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.rainn.org/articles/legal-role-consent
Martin, K., Vieraitis, L. M., & Britto, S. (2006). Gender equality and women’s absolute status: A test of the feminist models of rape. Violence Against Women, 12 (4), 321–339.
McCoy, K., Sonnen, E., Mii, A. E., Huit, T. Z., Meidlinger, K., Coffey, H. M., May, G., Flood, M. F., & Hansen, D. J. (2021). Helping families following sibling sexual abuse: opportunities to enhance research and policy responses by addressing practical challenges. Aggression and Violent Behavior . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2021.101652
McCrystal, L. (2021, November 1). Bill Cosby is out of prison. but a juror who convicted him wants to help define consent in PA.. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania/cosby-juror-jury-consent-andrea-constand-cheryl-carmel-20211101.html
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/xWYx7TMvodo
Prevention strategies . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/violencepreventi...revention.html
Rand, M. R. (2009). Criminal victimization, 2008 . Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.
Rospenda, K. M., Richman, J. A., & Shannon, C. A. (2009). Prevalence and mental health correlate with harassment and discrimination in the workplace: Results from a national study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24 (5), 819–843.
Samaran, N. 2016. The Opposite of Rape Culture is Nurturance Culture.
Scope of the problem: Statistics. RAINN. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.rainn.org/statistics/scope-problem
Secretary of State for the Home Department. (n.d.). Consent: Recognizing consent . Disrespect NoBody. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.disrespectnobody.co.uk/consent/signs-to-spot/
Sexual Assault. (2020, December 6). https://socialsci.libretexts.org/@go/page/59603 . "Text: Sexual Assault" by LibreTexts.
Sexual Assault. RAINN. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.rainn.org/articles/sexual-assault
Sexual Consent . Planned Parenthood. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/relationships/sexual-consent
SUNY. (n.d.). Definition of affirmative consent . SUNY The State University of New York. Retrieved from https://system.suny.edu/sexual-viole...ative-consent/
Tener, D., Katz, C., & Kaufmann, Y. (2021). “And I Let It All Out”: Survivors’ Sibling Sexual Abuse Disclosures. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 36 (23–24), 11140–11164. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/0886260519897326
Tidefors, I., Arvidsson, H., Ingevaldson, S, & Larsson, M. (2010). Sibling incest: A literature review and a clinical study.
Victims of sexual violence: Statistics . RAINN. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2022, from https://www.rainn.org/statistics/vic...exual-violence
"Violence Against Women- Rape and Pornography" by LibreTexts is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA. ***specific page : Violence Against Women- Rape and Pornography. (2020, December 17). https://socialsci.libretexts.org/@go/page/2057 *** per the license must note: changes were made such as reformatting, grammatical edits and omission of previous chapter references within this specific ch.
Violence Against Women (Part 2). (2020, November 17). https://socialsci.libretexts.org/@go/page/5952 . "Violence Against Women (Part 2)" by LibreTexts.
Waechter, R. (2021). Prevention of Sexual Violence in America: Where Do We Stand? American Journal of Public Health , 111 (3), 339–341. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.306120
Watts, B. (2020). Sibling Sexual Abuse: A Guide for Confronting America’s Silent Epidemic . Brad Watts, LPC, CSOTP.
What consent looks like . RAINN. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent
What is Affirmative Consent? Affirmative Consent. (n.d.). Retrieved May 19, 2022, from http://affirmativeconsent.com/whatis...mativeconsent/
What is domestic violence? Center for Domestic Peace. (2021, August 17). Retrieved May 23, 2022, from https://centerfordomesticpeace.org/w...stic-violence/
What is sexual and reproductive control . Planned Parenthood. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/relationships/healthy-relationships/what-sexual-and-reproductive-control
What is sexual coercion? love is respect. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.loveisrespect.org/resources/what-is-sexual-coercion/
Yates, P. (2020). “It’s just the abuse that needs to stop”: Professional framing of sibling relationships in a grounded theory study of social worker decision making following sibling sexual behavior. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 29(2), 222–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2019.1692399


8.3: Creating Content with a Content Management System
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Create and edit content with a WordPress account
- Evaluate WordPress as a tool for businesses
Developing and maintaining content can be tedious and can become overwhelming over time. The more information that is created, curated, shared, or collected, the better equipped you must be to manage all the data. This is where a CMS can make content managers’ roles easier. As you read more about tools like WordPress and how to use different features to appeal to your audience and meet company objectives, you will start to understand why this CMS is very popular.
WordPress is an open-source CMS. It can be a platform for small businesses, start-ups, nonprofits, and bloggers. It is critical to begin by identifying your objectives for using WordPress so that you can stay focused and select the WordPress functions that will enhance your business. We will cover WordPress in this text, but it is just one example of an open-source CMS for smaller organizations. WordPress is a larger player in the CMS market, garnering almost 40 percent of the market for website development. It is easy to use and can support integration with Google.
What Is WordPress?
WordPress is an open-source CMS that allows hosting and building for websites. Whether you are looking to build a business, blog, portfolio, or online store, it is a website platform for getting started. Without any knowledge of coding, you can use its features and functions, such as plugins and templates, to customize any website. For example, you can download WordPress e-commerce plug-ins to build an online store on your website. With WordPress, you can create many different types of websites, such as websites for business, portfolios, forums, blogs, events, and more. Once you are set up with a WordPress account, you can manage your website from any location.
Getting Started with WordPress
There are some basics about terminology that are important to know before setting up your website. First, the domain name is your website address. It is what people will use to get to your website. Generally, the domain name is similar to, or the same as, your business or organization’s name. However, each website has a unique domain name. It is possible your business name is already in use by another organization. So, you might have to make modifications to the domain name to secure that domain for your organization’s use.
To have the information on your site available on the internet, it needs to be hosted by a hosting service. Hosting service providers store your website files and allow you to publish the website for public viewing on the internet. Your website has to have both a domain name (website address) and a hosting service. WordPress is convenient because it guides you through the process of both securing a domain name and hosting your website.
To get started with WordPress, go to get.wp.com and choose Get Started (see Figure 8.13). You will create an account using a valid email address. Next, select a username and password. (Once you sign up, you will be asked to verify the account with the email address used, so you must have immediate access to the email you are connecting to the platform.)
Now that you have created an account, let’s revisit the Happy Tails WC organization. First, we need to consider an appropriate name for the domain name (website address). The next step will prompt you to enter a domain name for the site. You will most likely pay to secure your domain name for the website. This usually ranges from $10 to $20 per year depending on which type of domain you choose. WordPress does provide some completely free options for domain names, but the name will have the wordpress.com extension at the end of your website name rather than just having your organization’s name.
Start by typing in happytailwc. Notice there are several suggestions when you type in the organization name. You can also create your own website name. Some options might be free for the first year, but you will pay after (i.e., choosing to go with the .com suffix). If you choose a name that uses the wordpress.com extension, it will be free (see Figure 8.14). This example shows the free version. On the next screen, choose “start with a free site” at the top of the page (see Figure 8.15).
The next two screens will prompt you to answer questions about the purpose and goals for the website. Then, you will be taken to the database of website designs. Notice that some designs are only available for premium members (i.e., you must pay a fee to use them) while others are free, as shown in Figure 8.16. You also have the option to skip the design selection and create your website from scratch. Let’s select “Skip for now” (in the upper-right corner) to see more about what WordPress has to offer for building a site from scratch.
Once your site is created, let’s explore the interface. The first screen you will see will display the overview of your website. This is called the Wordpress dashboard . Here, you will be prompted to start building the pieces of the website. First, you should give the website a title and tagline, which could vary somewhat from the website address, but for this example, we will simply call it “Happy Tails WC.” Notice there is a menu of options on the left to help you change the appearance and add elements to the site (see Figure 8.17). From this menu, you can also establish users for the website and their privileges to edit the site. Once you set the title, you will be prompted to update/edit the site’s design. WordPress will walk you through the steps along the way to build your website. Be sure to save your settings as you make changes. WordPress will remind you to save your settings as you move through the elements to build the site. Notice also that there are many links on the dashboard to assist you in developing the layout and content. These links can be very helpful as you are working on the design of the website.
Before we design the layout, let’s choose a theme for the site. Choose Appearance and then Theme from the menu on the left of the screen in the dashboard, as seen in Figure 8.18. A theme provides the framework for the site that you can then customize. It is a good place to start rather than creating the layout and elements from scratch. A new screen will appear listing the current theme and then options to search and choose a new theme (Figure 8.19).
For Happy Tails WC, we want to use an engaging theme. Let’s choose a theme that contains a good deal of color and one that puts pictures on the home page so that we can pique the interest of individuals who are interested in adopting the available pets. Themes are categorized by style, type of business, or use. For example, one set of themes may be ideal for users who want to build a website for a personal blog, and another set for a family website. Once you select a theme, you will notice that it comes with complete branding, including fonts, color schemes, page layouts, and other features. After choosing a theme that matches the feel or mood of your business, you can change the images, color scheme, and fonts, all while keeping the same layout.
Choose the theme Snaps. This theme prominently displays pictures in a nice layout, while also being able to accommodate text that would describe each pet available for adoption (see Figure 8.20).
After you have activated the design theme, you can customize the site to fit your needs by changing colors and fonts, adding images, building the website menu, and adding information for a post. You will be working in the website screen as it will appear to users (WYSIWYG), so when you make a change to colors or content, you can see immediately how the result will look to anyone visiting your site online (see Figure 8.21). You can add information and add images in this view. When finished, choose Save Changes at the top left of the screen to go back to the WordPress dashboard. (It will read Saved afterward.) If you need to get back to the customization screen, you can access it from the Appearance menu in the dashboard.
When you save your changes to the theme, you will go back to the WordPress dashboard. Notice you have several options in the dashboard view, as Figure 8.22 shows. You can add pages to the site, you can modify/add users and set permissions, and you can also draft posts and blogs for the website. Save your changes by clicking “Update” in the upper-right corner. The best way to learn WordPress is to experiment with the options and settings.
At this point, your website is not “live,” meaning it is not yet published on the internet. When you are satisfied with the design of the site and are ready for people to see it, you need to make the site available on the internet. To publish the site, simply choose Launch your site from the menu on the right side of the screen on the dashboard. You will be prompted to select the domain and be asked to pay for hosting (see Figure 8.23).
Take the time to work through the features of interest to you. Here, we have covered some of the basic elements you need to get started, but there are many more things you can do in WordPress. As an editor working in WordPress , you will create, edit, publish, and delete posts, as well as moderate, approve, and delete comments written by others.
Editors may be given permission to change settings, add new users, or install plug-ins by their supervisor or administrator. These abilities can come in handy when designing and editing a website. A plug-in is a software application, similar to a smartphone app, that you can add to a WordPress website to extend its functionality. For example, suppose you want to add a plug-in to track engagement on your blog posts so you can see what content to curate or expand within the blog. Your plug-in might consist of a contact form that you use to collect subscriber data, such as favorite color, shirt size, or hobbies—data you can use to improve the user experience. WordPress currently has over 55,000 plug-ins, a figure that may seem overwhelming at first. You can easily narrow down the options using the search-and-filter system as well as the plug-ins themselves.
Another important customizable feature of a WordPress website is the widget . Widgets are software applications that display information or allow users to interface with a website. They can be difficult for users to understand because they are typically something that developers deal with and require extensive coding. But in WordPress, widgets manage the content in the design of your site without using code. Unlike plug-ins, widgets impact the design of your website. For example, you may want to add a widget to your website that embeds your social media feed, displaying posts, an email subscription form, testimonials, and a list of social media icons.
Your entire website is made up of pages , much like the pages of a book, except that the user can choose to view the web pages in any order they prefer. The pages will be consistent, giving the whole website a cohesive look. Most websites will have a home page (Home), an About or About Us page that describes the organization, and a Contact page, which provides a way to contact the organization. In WordPress, the pages will look very similar to a post , which is a piece of information that can be added to your website and listed in order from oldest to newest. Pages are the skeleton or core of the website and are organized as main pages and subpages of the main pages. The pages of your website set up the framework for organizing the content and how users will navigate your site. Posts, by contrast, are time-oriented and are generally meant for social media. Often, posts are made to highlight certain events or news related to the organization.
Posts can be organized and made searchable to users through the use of tags. A tag is a keyword about specific details in posts that help make the content in posts searchable. There are also categories for posts. Categories are a method of organizing posts on a website so that visitors can sort them easily, similar to the way search engines locate your content. Think of a category as the broad subject of the post and a tag as something more specific in the post details. For example, Happy Tails might have a category entitled “Dogs Available,” whereas a tag in a post could be “German Shepherd puppy.” It is a good idea to establish categories; otherwise, WordPress will put all posts in a generic “Uncategorized” category. Tags are optional, but they do help users get to the content you want them to see. There is also an option for visitors to sign up for an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed to have posts delivered to them via email. RSS allows posts to be shared quickly and increases the level of traffic to your website.
To add categories or tags to your site, go to Posts on the WordPress dashboard (see Figure 8.24). From there, choose either categories or tags. Let’s add the category “Dogs available” (see Figure 8.25) and the tag “German Shepherd puppy” (see Figure 8.26) to our Happy Tails WC site.
Business Site Considerations
About 40 percent of internet websites, including small businesses, are developed using the WordPress platform. WordPress offers features that can accommodate businesses of many different sizes and types, and we have included it here because it is free and easy to use. But regardless of the platform you use to develop a website—even if you hire a firm to do this for you—there are important considerations to examine. First and foremost, how will the website be used? Will the site be used for e-commerce? Is the site used primarily to share information? Is the company counting on the website to increase its market share through interactive elements to build a customer base? The site should be in line with the company image and brand, as well as reflect the company’s goals. Having a discussion about how the website will be integrated into the business is a key step in the design process. This process often starts with choosing a unique domain name, like “Happy Tails WC,” that expresses what your business is or does.
Link to Learning
If you are considering establishing your own WordPress site, it’s essential to have a reliable resource to guide you through the process, especially if you’re new to the platform. For beginners, we recommend checking out this comprehensive guide by WPBeginner to learn more.
This guide offers valuable insights, step-by-step instructions, and practical tips to help you navigate the world of WordPress effectively.
Another factor to consider is how you will drive users to your website. This can be facilitated through SEO. Recall that SEO is the process of increasing the visibility of a website to users who are searching for products or services. The most common search engine is Google, with Bing as a very distant second. SEO works by including keywords on each web page that identify titles, descriptions, and images. Adding these keywords will help move your site closer to the top of the list when a user searches for a business similar to yours. Although many search engines use different methods of ranking, including charging for the top spots in the results lists, SEO is essential to get users to your website. We will learn more about SEO in Search Engine Optimization.
Improving the accessibility of your website is crucial to providing a positive user experience for all visitors, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. By incorporating accessibility features, you can make your website more user-friendly and inclusive, ensuring that all visitors can engage with your content and have a positive user experience. Here are some features and considerations to enhance the accessibility of your website:
- Alternative text (alt text): Adding descriptive alt text to images allows screen readers to convey the content to visually impaired users. This ensures that they can understand the context and purpose of the images on your website.
- Text equivalents: Providing text equivalents for non-text content, such as videos or audio files, allows individuals with hearing impairments or those who are unable to access multimedia content to understand the information presented.
- Proper heading structure: Using headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to organize your content in a logical and hierarchical manner helps screen readers and users who rely on keyboard navigation to understand the structure and easily navigate through your web pages.
- Color contrast: Ensuring sufficient color contrast between text and background improves readability, particularly for individuals with visual impairments or color blindness. Using tools to check and adjust color contrast can help meet accessibility standards.
- Keyboard accessibility: Designing your website to be navigable using a keyboard alone is vital for individuals who cannot use a mouse or other pointing devices. This includes providing keyboard focus indicators, ensuring all interactive elements are accessible via keyboard, and enabling users to skip repetitive content.
- Captions and transcripts: Adding captions to videos and transcripts for audio content allows individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to access the information presented. It also benefits users who may prefer reading or have difficulty understanding spoken language.
- Researching accessibility plug-ins: There are numerous accessibility plug-ins available that can help enhance your website’s accessibility features. These plug-ins can provide additional functionalities such as text resizing options, screen reader compatibility, color adjustments, and more. Research and select plug-ins that align with your specific accessibility needs and requirements.
To explore further examples and important considerations for building accessible online content, visit the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) website provided by W3.org. The website includes wealth of valuable information and practical examples.
The security of your site is also important, so customers will feel safe entering their personal information. A site that doesn’t look professional or that doesn’t have trusted security icons or safe payment method options can deter customers and reduce sales. Some of the safest payment methods include credit cards with chip technology and payment applications such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, Cash App, and Zelle.
 These metrics are found in menu on the left side of the WordPress dashboard, which we will learn more about in Search Engine Optimization.


4.5: Reflective Writing
What it is?
Have you ever been asked to reflect on a text or an experience?
Reflective writing is used by different healthcare professions in various ways, but all reflective writing requires that you think deeply and critically about an experience or a text. At the centre of reflective writing is the “self” – including a deep analysis of you in relation to the topic. Reflective writing is a process that involves recalling an experience or an event, thinking and deliberating about it, and then writing about it.
You may be asked to engage in reflective writing related to an array of topics: the reading you are doing for a course, your experience working in a group, how you solved a problem, how you prepared for class or for an exam, a healthcare issue or a new theory. You will be expected to reflect on your clinical practice often throughout your nursing studies and for the rest of your nursing career to grow, learn, and demonstrate your continuing competence.
In nursing, reflective writing is part of what is called “ reflective practice. ” Early in your nursing program, you will become familiar with the College of Nurses of Ontario requirements for nurses to engage in reflective practice: this legislated professional expectation involves an intentional process of reflecting to explore and analyze a clinical experience so that you can “identify your strengths and areas for improvement” with the aim of strengthening your practice (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2019).
Figure 4.3: Reflective writing
How to do it?
Although there are many ways to reflect, one common framework called LEARN was developed by the College of Nurses of Ontario (1996). See Figure 4.4 .
Figure 4.4: Writing reflectively
Variations of this acronym have been taken up, but it essentially stands for:
- Look back. Recall a situation that was meaningful to you in your practice.
- Elaborate. Describe the situation from both an objective and subjective perspective (e.g., what did you see, hear? Who was involved and what interactions were observed? What did you think and feel?)
- Analyze. Examine how and why the situation happened the way it did. Think about it in the context of your nursing courses and the literature.
- Revise. Consider how and why your practice should remain the same and how it should be changed.
- New trial/perspective. Think and move forward. What will you do differently when a similar situation arises?
More recently, reflective writing has been described in the context of narrative writing in which you engage in personal and professional storytelling. A narrative approach to reflective writing asks you to think about storied elements (e.g., characters, events, setting) of an experience: What happened? How did the situation begin? Who was involved? Where did it take place? What emotions were people feeling? How did the situation end? As you can see, these types of questions can easily be integrated into the LEARN framework too.
What to keep in mind?
You will be expected to engage in reflective writing throughout your nursing program. Sometimes you will be asked to use the LEARN framework or another approach. Here are some tips on good reflective writing:
- If possible, choose a topic or situation that is meaningful to you.
- Be vulnerable in your writing and share your thoughts and feelings (you don’t need to write about a sanitized version of yourself – it’s okay to ponder mistakes or areas for improvement).
- Description is important, but so is analysis so that you can gain new insights.
- Think critically about your experience and be open to new perspectives.
Student Tip
The growth of reflection
Graduates or senior-level students will tell you that reflective writing changes over the course of your program. As you advance, your forms of reflective writing will evolve from descriptive to more analytical. You will be expected to refer to the literature to explain your analysis and support your claims. You should also always engage in reflection in the context of the courses that you are taking. Some courses focus on the personal self; others focus on the professional self, as well as nursing in the community or on a broader societal level.
Activity: Check Your Understanding
Think about a healthcare event that you encountered or a health and illness experience of a friend or relative that is meaningful to you. In reflecting on this experience, how could you apply the LEARN format?
The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.
References
College of Nurses of Ontario (2019). Self-Assessment. Retrieved from: www.cno.org/en/myqa/self-assessment/
College of Nurses of Ontario (1996). Professional profile: A reflective portfolio for continuous learning. Toronto: CNO.


11.12: Performance Management Errors
- Discuss common performance management errors
As alluded to in our discussion of appraisal methods, there are a number of factors that can distort appraisal results. In this section, we’ll discuss perception errors and how to avoid them.
Indiana University’s Human Resources identifies the following eleven perceptual errors: [1]
- The Leniency Error. Giving everyone high ratings regardless of actual performance, in an attempt to avoid conflict or to make yourself look good.
- The Central Tendency Error. Clumping or clustering all employees in the middle performance categories in an attempt to avoid extremes.
- The Recency Error. Failing to take into account the entire evaluation period and focusing on a recent performance episode, positively or negatively.
- The Halo Effect Error. Letting one favored trait or work factor influence all other areas of performance, resulting in an unduly high overall performance rating.
- The Horns Effect Error. Allowing one disfavored trait or work factor to overwhelm other, more positive performance elements, resulting in an unfairly low overall performance rating.
- Contrast Error. Evaluating an employee in relation to another employee rather than relative to his/her duties, goals and stated performance standards.
- Past Performance Error. Rating on past performance rather than present performance.
- Biased Rating Error. Allowing personal feelings toward employee to influence rating.
- High Potential Error. Confusing potential with performance.
- Similar to Me Error. Similar to me and therefore feeling of comfort and compatibility
- Guilt by Association Error. Evaluation influenced by employee’s associations rather than performance.
Avoiding Errors
Three tips to avoid these errors:
- Cultivate awareness or potential errors
- Rely on the data and documentation you’ve compiled, rather than your perceptions. That is, focus on the performance, rather than the person.
Note that there is a tendency to avoid accurate ratings—particularly on the downside—when there’s a significant amount at stake—for example, a promotion/demotion, raise or PIP. Let the person’s performance make the decision.
Developing and practicing techniques—for example, participating in appraisal and feedback simulations—for having difficult conversations will help you develop skills that will pay off in a variety of work and life situations. On her website, author, speaker, and trainer Judy Ringer provides a step-by-step checklist for having difficult conversations, including how to prepare yourself, 4 steps for a successful outcome and practice tips. For perspective, the four steps are highlighted below: [2]
- Step #1: Inquiry. Cultivate an attitude of discovery and curiosity.
- Step #2: Acknowledgment. Show that you’ve heard and understood what the person is saying.
- Step #3: Advocacy. Clarify your position without minimizing the other person’s position.
- Step #4: Problem-Solving. Begin building solutions.
Check out Dana Caspersen’s “ Conflict is a place of possibility ” TED Talk to learn more about this subject.
-
"Evaluate Job Performance." Indiana University Human Resources. August 2018. Accessed August 20, 2019. ↵
-
Ringer, Judy. "↵
Contributors and Attributions
- Authored by : StockSnap. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : pixabay.com/photos/people-men-discuss-paper-pen-2561336/. License : CC0: No Rights Reserved . License Terms : Pixabay License


1.1: Water Resources and the Origin of Contaminants
After reading this section, you should be able to:
- Understand and describe water sources
- Describe the water cycle
- Compare the term water contaminants with water pollutants
This chapter presents a brief introduction to the water sources that are available for potable supply; detailed information is presented in Water 132 (Water Supply). Understanding drinking water sources is important to assess the variety of contaminants that can be present in water.
Water Sources
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, and of that 97% are the oceans. The Earth’s water can be broken into two different categories: freshwater and salt water. Fresh water is simply water that is not salty and can be found in the planet’s surface water such as streams, lakes, and frozen as ice, but also underground in aquifers. Fresh water is stored on the surface as surface water or stored underground in aquifers as groundwater . Salt water can be found in the world’s oceans.
Figure 1.1.1 shows that our planet’s water sources are limited. Freshwater is much easier to use for potable (drinkable) applications because it requires simpler treatment. However, it represents only a small fraction of the Earth’s water portfolio. A large proportion of the freshwater is locked in glaciers and is not accessible. As a result, less than 1% of the water present on the planet is groundwater and surface water that can be more easily used as potable water source. Although desalination plants have become more prevalent, they are very costly, and their overall environmental impacts are unknown.
Figure 1.1.1: Distribution of Earth’s Water.
The origin of a water source determines its characteristics and the presence of specific contaminants. The concentration and composition of contaminants in water is also influenced by the movements of water, which is illustrated by the water hydrologic cycle (Figure 1.1.2). The Water Cycle is both driven by gravity (i.e., water flows downhill) and sunlight (i.e., water evaporates and condenses).
Figure 1.1.2: Water Hydrologic Cycle
Classifications of Contaminants
According to the Safe Drinking Water Act, a contaminant is any physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance in water. While some contaminants are harmless, others are deadly. Contaminants can even mix with water molecules in the atmosphere. Technically, any compound that is not a water molecule is a contaminant when it comes to water.
Many people think that all contaminants are manmade. They are not! Some have natural sources in the soil, such as arsenic and uranium. These can be expensive to remove because they occur naturally in the rocks around the water source.
Water can be contaminated by various human-caused ( anthropogenic ) activities or by existing natural features ( natural contaminants ) like mineral-rich geologic formations. It is not uncommon to find naturally occurring fluoride or arsenic in water.
Agricultural activities, industrial operations, landfills, animal operations, and small and large scale sewage treatment processes, among many other things, all can potentially contribute to contamination. As water runs over the land or infiltrates into the soil and groundwater , it dissolves material left behind by these potential contaminant sources.
There are three major groups of contamination: inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals, and biological agents. The risks and type of remediation for a contaminant depend on the type of chemicals present.
People use the words contaminants and pollutants interchangeably. What is the difference between a contaminant and a pollutant?
- A contaminant is a substance that is not normally expected.
- A pollutant is a substance found at a concentration that has reached a level that adversely affects the suitability of the water for its intended purpose.
Key Terms
- anthropogenic contaminants – human-caused (manmade) contaminants
- contaminant – a substance that is not normally expected
- groundwater – water stored in the ground
- natural contaminants – contaminants in soil geology, erosion of soils, etc. Examples of contaminants include fluoride and arsenic
- pollutant – a substance found at a concentration that has reached a level that adversely affects the suitability of the water for its intended purpose
- surface water – water on the surface of the earth
Review Questions
- Outline the water cycle highlighting water sources.
- List the major contaminants of water in the environment.
Chapter Quiz
-
How much water on planet earth is easily treated for drinking water?
- 96%
- 20.9%
- 32%
- < 1.0%
-
Most of the water on earth is found in the _________.
- atmosphere
- ocean
- ground
- rivers
-
Which of the following is a natural contaminant?
- Pesticides
- Nitrates
- Phosphates
- Fluoride
-
Anthropogenic contaminants refers to __________.
- turbidity
- geological contaminants
- inorganic contaminants
- manmade contamination
-
The ________ is(are) essential for the maintenance of most life and ecosystems on the planet.
- climate
- water cycle
- aesthetic characteristic of water
- atmospheric circulation
-
The ______ drive(s) the water cycle.
- types of precipitation
- oxygen concentration
- nutrient levels
- sun
-
What portion of surface water is found in the permafrost and ice?
- 69%
- 68.7%
- 96.5%
- 30.1%


2.2: Activities
Equipment
- butcher paper
- masking tape
- launch ramp
- a steel marble
- carbon paper
- meter stick
- plumb bob
The General Idea
Consider the somewhat contrived story...
A bitter controversy has recently broken out between the residents of a new housing development in the foothills and the Town Council over the safety of a number of large rocks perched on the slope of a hill that ends with a cliff, down to a lake, on the opposite side of which is the housing development. At the heart of the dispute is the relationship between the height above the edge of the cliff at which the rocks are balanced (\(y\)) and the distance, horizontally from the base of the cliff, to which the rocks will range (\(R\)) should they roll down the hill and fly off the cliff. Neither party is convinced by fancy physics calculations, so they both hired engineering firms to conduct modeled experiments to come to a conclusion.
Figure 2.1.1 – Engineers' Experimental Model
One group of engineers concluded that \(y\) and \(R\) are related by:
\[y\propto R\]
A second engineering firm concluded that \(y\) and \(R\) are related by:
\[y\propto R^2\]
Further calculations reveal that if the trajectories obey the linear relation, then some of the rocks starting higher on the hill will fly over the lake and land within the housing development, but if the quadratic relation holds, then even the highest rocks on the hill will land in the lake, leaving the housing development undamaged.
Your Task : Set up the same experiment performed by the two engineering firms, and use the graphical technique discussed in the Background Material to draw a conclusion about which of the two relationships given above is the correct one.
Some Things to Think About
As you launch into this experiment, here are a few basic considerations to help you accomplish your goal:
- You are trying to decide between two different functions that may be difficult to distinguish from each other unless one is smart about taking data. One important bit of advice in this regard is in the final paragraph of the Background Material . It mentions the scaling of the graphs, but how will you perform your experiment to also help in this regard?
- One of the pieces of equipment is a plumb bob. This device is used to connect two points along a vertical line. How is this useful for this experiment?
- Humans make all sorts of errors when running experiments. In this case, one might record the wrong starting height, or accidentally give the marble a small push. How will you protect against the effect of such errors?
- The engineer's model assumes that the rolling marbles leave the cliff horizontally .
- All the experimental runs are performed on the same piece of paper. How bad would it be if the position of this paper is accidentally changed between runs?
- As is often the case, the keys to a successful experiment are planning (for which there are hints above), and a well-organized, orderly table of data and computed values.
[ As promised in the previous lab, from this point on in Physics 9 labs, you will be given only basic guidance (such as the few tips above). Setting up the means by which you take data and writing the report will be up to your group. ]
Graphing
For this lab and future labs that involve graphs, you are free to do these however you wish – you can graph the data by hand or use software. One tool you might find useful is this online graphing calculator . If you click the "+" button in the upper-left corner and selecting "table", you can enter your data into a table and the points will be plotted. Then in the upper-right corner you can click the "share your graph" icon, which will allow you to print it (which you can do on the lab printer) or save as a document. For this lab, we are only looking for the data that looks linear; we are not interested in the actual straight line that best fits the data.
Lab Report
Craft a lab report for these activities and analysis, making sure to include every contributing group member's name on the front page. You are strongly encouraged to refer back to the Read Me as you do this, to make sure that you are not leaving out anything important. You should also feel free to get feedback from your lab TA whenever you find that your group requires clarification or is at an impasse.
Every member of the group must upload a separate digital copy of the report to their lab assignment in Canvas prior to leaving the lab classroom . These reports are not to be written outside the lab setting.


23.4: Patents
A patent is the exclusive right to make, use or sell an invention for a specified period of time (usually seventeen years), granted by the federal government to the inventor. A patent holder owns a patent. Patents may be legally sold to others. Therefore, an inventor may sell a patent to others, which ends his or her property interest in the invention.
Many inventors and designers work for employers in creative and inventive capacities. If an employee invents something as part of his or her employment, then the employer is the patent holder. This arrangement allows innovative ideas to be adequately funded and to prevent employees working against the best interests of their employers. However, if an employee invents something outside of work on his or her own time, and the invention is not related to his or her employment, then the employee is the patent holder.
To apply for a patent, an inventor must meet two requirements: the invention must be (1) novel and (2) non-obvious. To be novel , the invention must not have been previously invented and must not come from a trivial improvement to an existing invention. In other words, it must not have been previously known or used. To be non-obvious , the invention must not be obvious to a reasonable person in an appropriate field with ordinary skill. In other words, patents reward creativity that results in something new and is not considered common knowledge by someone in the industry.
| Patent Requirement | Description |
| Novel | New; cannot be something that was already invented or in use |
| Non-obvious | Not common knowledge to a reasonable person with ordinary skills in the industry |
Not all things can be patented. An idea alone (without a definite description) cannot be patented. Similarly, the laws of nature (such as gravity) and things that occur naturally (such as DNA) cannot be patented. This is because some items found in nature are not the result of the human mind or creativity. If not the product of human invention, then a patent cannot apply. This distinction can be narrow in some industries. For example, DNA cannot be patented but the scientific process of synthetically reproducing DNA can be patented. Likewise, oil cannot be patented but the process for extracting it from the ground can be.
Types of Patents
Three types of patents exist. The most common type of patent is the utility patent. Utility patents are granted for a useful innovative machine, process, manufacture, composition of matter (such as a new chemical) or an improvement to an existing item or process. These patents usually are granted for twenty years.
A design patent may be granted for new, original, and ornamental designs for an article of manufacture. This type of patent protects a product’s appearance or nonfunctional aspects. These patents last for only fourteen years.
A plant patent covers inventions or discoveries of asexually reproduced plants (e.g., plants produced through methods such as grafting, root cuttings, and budding). In other words, the plant is able to multiply without using seeds. For example, one company patented a unique rose whose color combination did not exist in nature.
| Type of Patent | Description |
| Utility |
|
| Design |
|
| Plant |
|
Patent Enforcement
The USPTO grants property rights to patent holders within the United States. Patent law is complicated, and attorneys who wish to practice patent law must have an engineering or science background and pass a separate patent bar exam. When an application is filed, the USPTO assigns a patent examiner to decide whether the patent application should be approved. While the application is pending, the applicant is permitted to use the term “patent pending” in marketing the product to warn others that a patent claim has been filed. Even after a patent has been issued by the USPTO, however, the patent is only presumed to be valid. If someone challenges a patent in a lawsuit, final validity rests with the US federal courts.
In the last decade there has been more than a 400 percent increase in the number of patents filed, resulting in a multiyear delay in processing applications. An increase in the number of business method patents contributed to this dramatic increase in patent applications. A business method patent seeks to monopolize a new way of conducting a business process. For example, “Patent Filing for One-Click Web Ordering” describes a method of e-commerce by which a customer can order an item and pay for it immediately with just one click of a button. This one-click patent was granted to Amazon.com. Amazon licensed the patent to Apple so that it could feature one-click on its website. This in turn allowed Amazon to recover some of its development costs from Apple, which also wanted to use the technology.
IP protection sometimes involves controversial issues. For example, pharmaceutical companies rely on patent law to protect their massive investment in research and development of new drugs. For the few drugs that eventually get governmental approval and commercial success, manufacturers seek to extract the highest possible price during the period of patent monopoly. For example, antiretroviral drugs has greatly extended the lives of HIV/AIDS patients, but the drugs cost between $10,000 and $12,000 per year in the United States. In many developing nations, individuals cannot afford US prices. Therefore, some governments have declared national health emergencies, a procedure under international treaties called compulsory licensing, that forces drug companies to license the formula to generic drugmakers. As a result, Cipla, a generic drug manufacturer in India, manufactures the same antiretrovirals for about $350 a year.
Outside the United States, a patent granted by the USPTO does not automatically protect the inventor’s interest in that property. Instead, IP is protected by a series of international conventions. Because international law is only binding on nations who agree to be bound by it, IP is not protected internationally in nations that have not signed the conventions.
Patent Infringement
If someone uses a patented invention without permission from the patent holder, then the user violates the patent holder’s rights. Patent infringement is the act of making, using, selling, or offering to sell a patented invention without the permission of the patent holder. Patent infringement can be either direct or indirect. Direct infringement occurs when someone copies and uses an invention, or uses an invention with a slight variation or addition. Indirect infringement occurs when someone “designs around” a patent by creating a product that is substantially the same and performs a similar function.
If patent holders successfully sue for patent infringement, they may be entitled to an injunction forcing their competitors to stop using the invention, treble damages, costs, and attorney’s fees. The most common defense to patent infringement claims is to challenge the validity of the patent. Given the scientific and technical nature of patent cases, litigating these cases is expensive.
As a result of the cost of litigation, patent trolls exist in certain industries such as technology and pharmaceuticals. Patent trolls are individuals or companies who obtain the rights to one or more patents to profit by means of licensing or litigation, rather than by producing their own goods or services. The main source of revenue for patent trolls comes from suing companies for infringement and hoping the companies settle. For a relatively minor cost of applying for a patent and attorneys’ fees, patent trolls look for a big payout. For example, NTP, a patent troll, sued the maker of BlackBerry, claiming patent infringement for the technology used to deliver the BlackBerry’s push email feature. Faced with a potential shutdown of service, BlackBerry settled the case for more than six hundred million dollars.
Over the past decade, there have been some legal developments to help protect companies from patent trolls. For example, the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that patent infringement cases must be filed in the federal court where the defending company is based rather than a court of the plaintiff’s choice. This reduces the exposure and cost to the company of defending against cases filed across the nation, and for the patent trolls to “forum shop” for districts they believe will be more beneficial to their claims.
More companies are choosing to fight patent trolls in court rather than payout. For example, Apple has been defending itself in court against patent troll VirnetX over patents that VirnetX obtained in FaceTime and iMessage delivery systems. Although Apple has a large enough budget to engage in protracted litigation, not every company does. Therefore, patent trolls often target start-up companies hoping that the economic threat of a lawsuit encourages quick settlements.