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    Read more about Gateway to Business Analytics

    Gateway to Business Analytics

    Contributor: Barreto

    Publisher: PALNI

    Business analytics is a new, expanding subfield with fuzzy edges that overlap into a variety of other established disciplines, including economics, econometrics, computer science, data science, finance, statistics, mathematics, and even psychology. Business analytics includes such traditional techniques as regression and data visualization, but also newer methods such as web scraping, big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Its key dinstinguishing feature is using data to make and communicate business decisions. This textbook will present a mix of topics appropriate to a undergraduate level introduction to business analytics course with and engaging delivery style.

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    Read more about Mechanics of Materials

    Mechanics of Materials

    Contributors: Lord, Davison, Richardson, and Dillard

    Publisher: Virginia Tech Publishing

    License: CC BY-NC-SA

    Mechanics of Materials is a multi-format, __ page open textbook and accompanying problem set intended for use in one-semester introductory undergraduate Mechanics of Materials courses. Mechanics of Materials is an important foundation for students in several disciplines, including mechanical, civil, aerospace, and materials engineering. It is typically completed early in the core engineering curriculum, following Statics, and serves as a prerequisite to more advanced Solid Mechanics courses.

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    Read more about Curriculum Development for Christian Ministry

    Curriculum Development for Christian Ministry

    Contributor: Jones

    Publisher: PALNI

    This text will prepare students to develop curriculum for their ministry or Christian organizations. It will encompass both theory and practice, helping students understand the educational and organizational need for curricular planning, the biblical and theological foundations, and insight and skill in implementing a comprehensive curriculum plan. The entire process of development will be presented, from vision to evaluation. Each section will include questions or mini-assignments to help students process the content in ways that enhance learning.

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    Read more about Leveraging Data Visualization to Communicate Effectively

    Leveraging Data Visualization to Communicate Effectively

    Contributors: Mitchell and Deckard

    Publisher: PALNI

    This textbook will introduce students to the principles of effective data visualization and how to use visualization techniques to effectively communicate information and insights. Additionally, this textbook shares presentation strategies to address communication gaps that could arise if the visualized data does not have the proper context and labeling. Students will learn how to select appropriate chart types and design effective visualizations that clearly convey data patterns and trends, to support data-driven decisions. The textbook will also cover best practices for labeling, scaling, and annotating visualizations, as well as techniques for avoiding common pitfalls and biases in data visualization. Through hands-on exercises and projects, students will have the opportunity to practice creating a variety of visualizations using tools such as Excel, Power Business Intelligence (BI) and several problem-solving tools like Ishikawa, SWOT, PEST/LE, decision tree and more. Students will be able to process, analyze and visualize data to evaluate patterns and trends, and learn ways to communicate more effectively regardless of the setting or the type of audience.

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    Read more about Comparative Vertebrate and Human Anatomy: Ecology, Evolution, and Function

    Comparative Vertebrate and Human Anatomy: Ecology, Evolution, and Function

    Contributors: Young, Whitenack, Ryerson, and Cheu

    Publisher: PALNI

    This book provides an ecology- and function-oriented approach to understanding the evolution of vertebrate structure. The text has a modular format, such that each module can be used as a stand-alone instructional tool, or grouped together as a comprehensive textbook, making the text versatile for use in courses with diverse structures. The text also includes human-specific modules for each anatomical system, as many small, liberal arts colleges teach comparative and human anatomy in a single course. Detailed, human-specific modules may be added or removed, as needed for individual courses, depending on the scope and learning objectives of the class.

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    Read more about Cultures and Civilizations of the Hispanic Countries

    Cultures and Civilizations of the Hispanic Countries

    Contributor: Pacheco Gonzalez

    Publisher: PALNI

    Throughout the years, the academic curriculum addressing the teaching the cultural part of the Spanish-speaking countries has lacked a diversity of topics and voices in the content. To improve that gap, the work proposed in this book project represents an effort to contributing to representation and equity in the academic curriculum. The textbook covers all the thematical content, which are studied in academic programs, but it also presents the influential status of Spanish as an international language with all of its diversity of peoples, beliefs, and ways of life. Overall, current textbooks favor the representation of the cultures of developed Spanish-speaking countries, while the cultures of Africa and under-developed Latino-American countries are often under-represented. This textbook seeks to redress the imbalance in cultural content and offer a view that is more humane, personal, and proud of its origins.

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    Read more about The Exciting Dynamics of State and Local Government

    The Exciting Dynamics of State and Local Government

    Contributors: Merrifield-Wilson, Shufeldt, Wrzenski, Bennion, Strachan, Hanka, and Wolf

    Publisher: PALNI

    This book provides readers with both a large-scale overview of state government (including its responsibilities and rights established through federalism, political institutions such as the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and political behavior such as voting, interest groups, and the media) in addition to guiding individual examinations of states through case studies incorporated in each chapter. Co-authored by Laura Merrifield Wilson and Gregory Shufeldt, the text gives readers a greater understanding of the role and responsibilities of state and local government. Utilizing state comparisons and highlights, in content included in both the chapters and the accompanying case studies, readers delve into the intricate world of comparative government while analyzing the differences and similarities, as well as the reasons for them, between and among states.

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    Read more about Public Speaking and Democratic Participation: Speech, Deliberation, and Analysis in the Civic Realm, 2nd ed.

    Public Speaking and Democratic Participation: Speech, Deliberation, and Analysis in the Civic Realm, 2nd ed.

    Contributors: Abbott, McDorman, and Timmerman

    Publisher: PALNI

    The second edition of Public Speaking and Democratic Participation: Speech, Deliberation, and Analysis in the Civic Realm equips students to effectively participate in and transform their communities through speech. Drawing on the ancient study of rhetoric, the textbook teaches students informative and persuasive speaking skills to develop and empower their public voice. Unique to this textbook, content is also provided on the democratic practices of deliberative discussion facilitation and rhetorical analysis. Together, these abilities help students recognize divisive civic discourse, counter social injustice, and nurture a healthier and more inclusive society.

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    Read more about Social Action Writing: Public Narratives and Methods of Community

    Social Action Writing: Public Narratives and Methods of Community

    Contributors: Latta, Chan-Brose, and Ryan

    Publisher: PALNI

    Social Action Writing: Public Narratives and Methods of Community explores the ways writing and other literacies can catalyze social change and foster community development. This text situates writing instruction within the disciplinary perspective of community literacy (Campano, Ghiso, & Welch, 2016). It showcases methods of combining literacy-based practices with asset-based community development approaches to strengthen writing abilities and generate organic community empowerment capacity. Through the combination of theory and practice, Social Action Writing: Public Literacies and Methods of Community Empowerment addresses a current need for a comprehensive resource guide within the growing discipline of community literacy. Social Action Writing approaches writing as a social action and positions writing instruction through community-engaged and experiential pedagogies. Additionally, the work explains and demonstrates the connections between writing, research, and community empowerment and development methods. This text provides a “toolkit” to use literacy-based methods of collaborative and humanizing inquiry so that communities may foster progress and address social concerns through asset-focused practices. Similar to the interdisciplinary nature of community literacy, this text draws from the disciplinary perspectives of writing studies (Deans, 2002; Parks, 2016), social sciences, asset-based community development (McKnight, 2013), and humanizing research methodologies (Paris & Winn, 2014). Social Action Writing connects writing and collaborative inquiry with real-world outcomes by balancing theory, research, and action-oriented applications. This text prepares students and practitioners to harness high-impact community engaged learning and literacy approaches to generate organic and equitable change.

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    Read more about Supernature: An Introduction to Bionics Projects

    Supernature: An Introduction to Bionics Projects

    Contributor: Haen Whitmer

    Publisher: Iowa State University Digital Press

    Bionics technologies utilize constructs derived from the natural world to inspire the engineering design of the next generation of human function augmentation technologies. This text is a synthesis of the foundational concepts from human anatomy and physiology that underlie bionics with laboratory activities in bionics engineering. Activities in this text include an introduction to coding and using a microcontroller, circuitry, integration of data from body sensors, and additive manufacturing processes.

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