Quantitative Problem Solving in Natural Resources

Reviewed by Leo Fitzsimons, Mathematics Instructor, Bridgewater State University on 7/1/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book contains a very effective index and rather than following APA format, in-text references are uniquely detailed in the page margins for immediate access.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I found the text to be very accurate, did not note any errors and did not detect any sense of bias.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

In the author’s own words, on page 10, “I have deliberately avoided discussing particular software tools or internet resources, partly in the interest of ensuring that this text does not rapidly become obsolete, but also to allow for flexibility.” The author was very sensitive to this matter.

Clarity rating: 4

I generally found the text to be very clear. However, there are a few places where prior knowledge of forestry would help comprehension.

Consistency rating: 5

I did not detect any inconsistencies in the text.

Modularity rating: 5

The book is set up in five chapters that progress from establishing the authors approach through increasing levels of employed mathematics.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I found the flow of the book to be very logical. However, I have an engineering background. Someone without prior technical knowledge may not agree.

Interface rating: 5

I did not encounter any issues of this type.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I found the book to be free of grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

While I did not find the book to be culturally insensitive or offensive in any way, I also failed to note use of examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

Comments

I have a grant from the Quantity Across the Curriculum group to create a wide-ranging course entitled Mathematical Reasoning and Literacy. I have taught this topic for over a decade under various names. I was happily surprised to find a Quantitative Literacy text focused on a specific field. This is causing me to rethink my approach to my course in that I am going to create threads of problems connected to specific majors, rather than the typically more generic problems. I will definitely be referencing this text in my work!