Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a sociology class.
Professor: You’ve heard about how important bees are, right? There are theories that if bees go extinct, humans may not survive. Consider this: bees are responsible for the pollination of 70 percent of the crops that feed 90 percent of the world. Honey bees alone help produce $30 billion in crops annually. If they die out, so could much of our food supply, along with all the animals that depend on that supply. Did you realize bees were that important? They’re what we call a keystone species, because they’re essential to the functioning of a large network.
Or, how about schools of fish? You’ve seen them moving around, acting like they all have one mind. They seem to turn in unison, with no one fish appearing to lead. It’s just a large group working together. But there must be some kind of communication occurring. One fish sees danger, food—something that’s important—then alerts the rest of the school… and every fish immediately steers clear of the danger or heads for the attractive food source.
Well, these, as unrelated as they may seem, are examples of networks. A network is a collection of people, animals, computers, companies—basically anything—that are interconnected in some way. There are both natural and man-made networks… this definition explains why companies say they have “networked computers.”
So what does this have to do with sociology? Everything! Our day-to-day lives, our career aspirations, our families, are all created and comprised of social networks. These networks can shift over time, and one person may use different networks to achieve different goals… I doubt you think of your high school network as the one that’s going to get you a job. I want to use the social networks you’re already familiar with to draw an analogy with neurological networks… the networks in your brain.
You already know that our brain controls our thoughts, our emotions, even our physical feelings. But how? Through the relationships… the networks… created there. Whenever we learn something new, we change the neural networks in our brains. Sometimes those changes are permanent… sometimes they are temporary. By analogy, meeting someone new changes your social networks, if only for a moment. To describe these complex and dynamic interactions, there are three domains to consider: individuals, tasks, and resources.
First, individuals. A network, by definition, is composed of interconnected individuals. The brain has small entities, called neurotransmitters, that can be considered individuals. A neurotransmitter is the chemical messenger used to send signals throughout the brain. They talk to each other and allow parts of the brain to communicate. Each neurotransmitter can be activated in response to different stimuli, or different conditions. For a social network, an individual can be one person, groups of people, or even large entities like a company or a country. You can consider the United States to be networked with the United Kingdom, China, and basically every other country. You are networked with your family, your friends, and this college, and you have many other networks.
Second, tasks. Based on the skills and materials each individual possesses, they will be assigned appropriate tasks. Each neurotransmitter is designed to produce a particular reaction. The neurotransmitter serotonin, for example, works to affect your mood, appetite, and sleep. Its particular composition is designed to make it perfect for these tasks. Other neurotransmitters would be assigned other, more appropriate tasks. Similarly, a team may work to win a football game, with each individual assigned a task, and the whole network working to achieve a larger task.
Finally, resources. To produce serotonin, the brain needs Vitamin C and an amino acid derivative known as 5-HTP. For dopamine, another neurotransmitter that impacts mood, the brain needs Vitamins C and B6 and a different amino acid derivative. People who have vitamin deficiencies might feel depressed because the brain does not have enough resources available to complete the task of feeling happy. Similarly, a football team is unlikely to win without the appropriate sports equipment and the right coach to teach them how to play the game effectively.
So you see how the complex relationships seen throughout the world can be described in terms of relatively simple concepts? The trick is making sure you track all the different relationships. A single person, or a single neurotransmitter, can be part of an incredibly large network, or, even more likely, several large networks.
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What is the main purpose of the lecture? |
Gist-purpose. The professor defines the term “network” and a network’s three key characteristics, using a comparison between social and neural networks. |
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| ✗ | A To introduce ways for students to optimize their social networks |
The professor mentions social networks, but does not discuss how to optimize them. |
| ✓ | B To describe the characteristics of networks and provide examples |
Correct. The professor uses two types of networks—social and neurological—to describe the characteristics of a network. |
| ✗ | C To explain the differences between social and neurological networks |
The professor does not focus on the differences between social and neurological networks. She focuses on their similarities to explain networks in general. |
| ✗ | D To explain the differences between networks of fish, birds, and the brain |
The focus of the lecture is not the differences among different networks. It is on their similarities. |
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Why does the professor talk about bees? |
Organization. Bees are one of two examples that the professor mentions early in the lecture to introduce the concept of networks. |
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| ✗ | A To emphasize the importance of environmental conservation |
The professor does not discuss environmental conservation. |
| ✗ | B To draw an analogy between the farming industry and naturally occurring networks |
The professor does not discuss the farming industry directly. She only refers to farming concepts to illustrate the importance of bees in a much larger network. |
| ✓ | C To provide an example of a keystone species in a larger network |
Correct. The professor discusses networks in a variety of fields. She uses the example of bees as a keystone species at the beginning of the lecture to pique the students’ interest in the topic of networks. |
| ✗ | D To show how networks can change over time |
The professor’s discussion of bees does not focus on changes to any network. |
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According to the professor, which of the following are examples of networks? Choose 2 answers. |
Detail. The professor mentions several examples of networks throughout the lecture, including both social and neurological networks. |
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| ✓ | a A football team |
Correct. A football team is one of the examples the professor gives of a social network. |
| ✗ | b A neurotransmitter |
The professor compares a neurotransmitter to an individual in a social network. Both a neurotransmitter and an individual are described as components of a network, not networks themselves. |
| ✗ | c A police department |
Police departments are not mentioned in the lecture. |
| ✓ | d A school of fish |
Correct. A school of fish is given as an example of a social network from the animal kingdom. |
Narrator: Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question.
Professor: A network is a collection of people, animals, computers, companies—basically anything—that are interconnected in some way. There are both natural and man-made networks… this definition explains why companies say they have “networked computers.”
So what does this have to do with sociology?
Narrator: Why does the professor say this:
Professor: So what does this have to do with sociology?
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Function of What Is Said. The professor defines and gives examples of networks in the beginning of her lecture. In this quote, she pivots to speaking more directly about social networks, using neural networks as an analogy. |
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| ✓ | A To connect the previous examples to the main topic of the lecture |
Correct. The professor later answers her own question by saying that the examples she has mentioned have “everything” to do with sociology. The rest of her lecture uses social network examples to help describe networks generally. |
| ✗ | B To ask students for examples of social networks |
The professor is not asking the students for examples. Her question is rhetorical. |
| ✗ | C To acknowledge that she has strayed off topic |
This is not the purpose of the professor’s question. |
| ✗ | D To encourage students to draw from their owns experiences |
In this quote, the professor is not asking the students for details of their own experiences. |
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What does the professor compare to serotonin, a neurotransmitter that impacts mood? |
Detail. Serotonin and other neurotransmitters are examples of individuals in a larger network. Serotonin specifically is used to describe the assignment of tasks based on the ability of the individual. |
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| ✗ | A A company working to manufacture a product |
This example is not given in the lecture. |
| ✗ | B A school of fish avoiding a predator |
The school of fish is described as an entire network. It is not comparable to serotonin, because serotonin is compared to an individual in this lecture. |
| ✗ | C Vitamins C and B6 ingested as supplements |
Vitamins are examples of resources that are needed to produce neurotransmitters. They are not given as examples of individuals in a network. |
| ✓ | D A team member who is assigned an appropriate task |
Correct. Just as serotonin is “assigned” to affect the chemistry of the brain in a specific way, an individual is assigned an appropriate task to complete as part of the larger goals of the network as a whole. |
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What example of a network’s resources does the professor provide? |
Detail. The professor mentions vitamins and amino acid derivatives as resources for neurological networks, and a football team’s coaching and equipment as resources for that team. |
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| ✗ | A A neurotransmitter |
The professor uses neurotransmitters as examples of individuals, not resources. |
| ✓ | B A football team’s equipment |
Correct. A football team needs equipment and coaching. Both are given as examples of the network’s resources. |
| ✗ | C A school of fish |
A school of fish is an example of an entire network, not a network resource. |
| ✗ | D Winning a game |
Winning a game is a task, not a network resource. |