Digital library
Textbooks, references and open learning resources.
External
The Basics of Health, Wellness, and Fitness
Jessica Alsup · ROTEL · 2024
This book is written for anyone who could benefit from learning more about health, wellness, and fitness. Throughout the text, readers will learn about health and wellness, setting goals, physical activity and exercise, cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, body composition, flexibility, nutrition, stress management, as well as self-care and sleep. In addition to providing important information about the above topics, the text also includes self assessment assignments and self-reflection opportunities. It is the aim of the author that readers increase their understanding regarding the idea that we are all dealt different hands in life, and we all have our history and our own experiences, but one thing we all have in common is that we can start now from wherever we are and make small changes to improve our health, wellness, and fitness.
External
Exploring the U.S. Healthcare System
Karen Valaitis · University of West Florida Pressbooks · 2023
Welcome to Exploring the U.S. Healthcare System. This open educational resource (OER) introduces students to foundational characteristics of the U.S. healthcare system. It begins with an overview of the healthcare system that includes a brief history and a description of the current state of health in the U.S. The second chapter describes health delivery systems, including inpatient, outpatient, post-acute, longterm, palliative, and hospice care. An introduction to health insurance in the third chapter will include an overview of basic concepts, private insurance, public insurance, and recent trends. The fourth chapter presents issues related to the triple aim of improving access to care, increasing the quality of care, and lowering the cost of care. The fifth chapter reviews how the government intervenes in healthcare and presents current policy issues related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and value-based contracting. The final chapter on the topic of technology in healthcare provides an overview of health information technology, health information legislation, emerging technologies, and the future of health information technology. Chapter content is supplemented with additional material such as reports, briefs, figures, infographics, definitions, and key terms. Chapters two through six end with a “knowledge check” exercise to actively engage students with the content. While this OER book was curated and created for undergraduate students in the field of healthcare, it is my hope that it will continue to be customized to other programs and shared again.
External
Mental Health is a Verb: A Pocket Guide to Mental Health for Nursing Students
Jake Bush; Jill Van Der Like · University of West Florida Pressbooks · 2023
MENTAL HEALTH IS A VERB is an open education resource written by Jake Bush, Ph.D., RN, CNE, and Jill Van Der Like, DNP, MSN, RNC through the University of West Florida which addresses mental health nursing care. The book opens with a foundational module that provides a brief history of mental health treatment, pertinent theorists, and the underpinning concepts of mental health versus mental illness, followed by a separate chapter on psychopharmacology. The heart of the text is arranged into the most common mental health diagnoses. Additionally, this second edition includes the addition of case studies (modules 8-19), two virtual simulation activities (modules 7 and 13), and a mental health cumulative study guide as an appendix.
External
Healthcare in the United States: Navigating the Basics of a Complex System
Deanna Howe; Andrea Dozier; Sheree Dickenson · University of North Georgia Press · 2022
This book is a collaborative effort among three faculty members from the Darton College of Health Professions, Nursing Department, at Albany State University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), and part of the UniversitySystem of Georgia. The book idea originated from a grant-funded program to create open education resources (OER) for students learning in UniversitySystem of Georgia’s eMajor courses. The cost of education in the United States is remarkably expensive, and the added burden of purchasing textbooks for each course can be prohibitive. The opportunity to create free educational materials has been a rewarding experience. A free pdf form of this text is available for download. The authors of this book are registered nurses who have each worked 25 or more years in various roles and specialties within our healthcare system. There have been many changes throughout the years. The authors’ experience and knowledge are from a nursing perspective not found in other texts of similar content.The healthcare system has advanced tremendously since the very beginning of our formalized system. The most significant growth has been in technology use to support, diagnose, increase patient safety, and document patient outcomes.However, more can be done to ensure a system that meets all our citizens’ healthcare needs.Readers of this text will learn a brief history of our healthcare system and explore the current state of health in the U.S. In the next 12 chapters, readers will: consider health as defined using determinants of health discover the many types of healthcare providers seen throughout the system differentiate between the different types of healthcare settings explore state and federal programs that provide oversight examine private insurance and managed care plans survey access issues and the cost of healthcare review how state and federal government provides support to special populations discover the quick expansion of technology use in healthcar
External
Geometry with an Introduction to Cosmic Topology
Michael Hitchman · Michael P. Hitchman · 2020
Motivated by questions in cosmology, the open-content text Geometry with an Introduction to Cosmic Topology uses Mobius transformations to develop hyperbolic, elliptic, and Euclidean geometry - three possibilities for the global geometry of the universe. The text, written for students who have taken vector calculus, also explores the interplay between the shape of a space and the type of geometry it admits. Geometry is suitable for a semester course in non-Euclidean geometry or as a guide to independent study, with over 200 exercises and several essays on topics including the history of geometry, parallax and curvature, and research aimed at determining the shape of the universe.
External
Euclid's Elements Redux
Daniel Callahan · Sample · 2020
"Euclid's 'Elements' Redux" is an open textbook on mathematical logic and geometry based on Euclid's "Elements" for use in grades 7-12 and in undergraduate college courses on proof writing. Many problem solvers throughout history wrestled with Euclid as part of their early education including Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton, Ada Lovelace, Abraham Lincoln, Bertrand Russell, and Albert Einstein. This edition is part of an effort to ensure that tomorrow's great thinkers will have that same privilege.
External
How We Got from There to Here: A Story of Real Analysis
Robert Rogers; Eugene Boman · Open SUNY · 2014
The typical introductory real analysis text starts with an analysis of the real number system and uses this to develop the definition of a limit, which is then used as a foundation for the definitions encountered thereafter. While this is certainly a reasonable approach from a logical point of view, it is not how the subject evolved, nor is it necessarily the best way to introduce students to the rigorous but highly non-intuitive definitions and proofs found in analysis. This book proposes that an effective way to motivate these definitions is to tell one of the stories (there are many) of the historical development of the subject, from its intuitive beginnings to modern rigor. The definitions and techniques are motivated by the actual difficulties encountered by the intuitive approach and are presented in their historical context. However, this is not a history of analysis book. It is an introductory analysis textbook, presented through the lens of history. As such, it does not simply insert historical snippets to supplement the material. The history is an integral part of the topic, and students are asked to solve problems that occur as they arise in their historical context. This book covers the major topics typically addressed in an introductory undergraduate course in real analysis in their historical order. Written with the student in mind, the book provides guidance for transforming an intuitive understanding into rigorous mathematical arguments. For example, in addition to more traditional problems, major theorems are often stated and a proof is outlined. The student is then asked to fill in the missing details as a homework problem.
External
Ethics in Law Enforcement
Steve McCartney; Rick Parent · BCcampus · 2015
In this book, you will examine the moral and ethical issues that exist within law enforcement. This book will also familiarize you with the basic history, principles, and theories of ethics. These concepts will then be applied to the major components of the criminal justice system: policing, the courts, and corrections. Discussion will focus on personal values, individual responsibility, decision making, discretion, and the structure of accountability. Specific topics covered will include core values, codes of conduct, ethical dilemmas, organizational consequences, liability, and the importance of critical thinking. By the end of this book, you will be able to distinguish and critically debate contemporary ethical issues in law enforcement.
External
Contract Doctrine, Theory & Practice
J.H. Verkerke · CALI's eLangdell® Press · 2012
This is Volume 3 in a three volume series written for Contracts Law. Its former title is "Collaborative Teaching Materials for Contracts." The first semester of law school is mostly about learning to speak a new legal language (but emphatically not “legalese”), to formulate and evaluate legal arguments, to become comfortable with the distinctive style of legal analysis. We could teach these skills using almost any legal topic. But we begin the first-year curriculum with subjects that pervade the entire field of law. Contract principles have a long history and they form a significant part of the way that lawyers think about many legal problems. As you will discover when you study insurance law, employment law, family law, and dozens of other practice areas, your knowledge of contract doctrine and theory will be invaluable.
External
Introduction to Sociology
Tonja Conerly; Kathleen Holmes; Asha Tamang · OpenStax · 2021
Introduction to Sociology 3e aligns to the topics and objectives of many introductory sociology courses. It is arranged in a manner that provides foundational sociological theories and contexts, then progresses through various aspects of human and societal interactions. The new edition is focused on driving meaningful and memorable learning experiences related to critical thinking about society and culture. The text includes comprehensive coverage of core concepts, discussions and data relevant to a diverse audience, and features that draw learners into the discipline in powerful and personal ways. Overall, Introduction to Sociology 3e aims to center the course and discipline as crucial elements for understanding relationships, society, and civic engagement; the authors seek to lay the foundation for students to apply what they learn throughout their lives and careers. The authors, reviewers, and the entire team worked to build understanding of the causes and impacts of discrimination and prejudice. Introduction to Sociology 3e contains dozens of examples of discrimination and its outcomes regarding social science, society, institutions, and individuals. The text seeks to strike a balance between confronting the damaging aspects of our culture and history and celebrating those who have driven change and overcome challenges. The core discussion of these topics are present in Chapter 11 on Race and Ethnicity, and Chapter 12 on Gender, Sex, and Sexuality, but their causes and effects are extensively discussed in the context of other topics, including education, law enforcement, government, healthcare, the economy, and so on. Together and when connected by an instructor, these elements have potential for deep and lasting effects.
External
Reading the Bible as Literature: A Journey
Jody Ondich · Minnesota State Colleges and Universities · 2022
The Bible is one of the most published books in human history. It is also one of the most misquoted, misunderstood and misused books in human history. This happens because people are not always aware that the Bible is not a book, it is a collection of diverse writings. The Bible might even be called an anthology, and it will include everything from poetry to genealogy, pithy sayings to architectural mandates, mythology to letters. Knowing what one is reading helps one understand the ideas in the writings. We read letters in the context of who wrote them and who received them. We read sermons understanding the speaker's perspective may differ from the listener's perspective. So this text is an attempt to give historic, literary, geographical and cultural context to a complex and often poorly understood set of materials. This is very much an ebook, and needs to be used in that format. Pdfs and other printed versions will lose a great deal of the content.
External
Becoming America: An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution
Wendy Kurant · University of North Georgia Press · 2018
The University of North Georgia Press and Affordable Learning Georgia bring you Becoming America: An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution. Featuring sixty-nine authors and full texts of their works, the selections in this open anthology represent the diverse voices in early American literature. This completely-open anthology will connect students to the conversation of literature that is embedded in American history and has helped shaped its culture. Features: Contextualizing introductions from Pre- and Early Colonial Literature to Early American Romanticism Over 70 historical images In-depth biographies of each author Instructional Design, including Reading and Review Questions This textbook is an open Educational Resource. It can be reused, remixed, and reedited freely without seeking permission.
External
Linguistics for Teachers of English
Carol Russell · New Prairie Press · 2018
The primary goals of this text are to acquaint prospective teachers of English with certain aspects of the history, structure, and use of the English Language. Through considering the nature of the English language; how language and culture are interconnected as well as how it is acquired and how and why it changes, readers will come to a fuller understanding of sociolinguistics. This text discusses the nature of language, as well as how it is acquired; how and why languages change, and how the English language in particular has changed (and continues to change); why different varieties of English have developed, and why they continue to be used; how linguists have attempted to account for the (ir)regularities of English; how language and culture are related; and how linguistics can be used as a tool in the classroom. This text presents important topics for English teachers to know: the relationship between “standard” and “nonstandard” dialects, how and why language varies, how we can make informed decisions about what is “right” and “wrong” in language use, and generally how a sound knowledge of how language works can inform and benefit the pedagogical strategies needed to develop as a teacher. Ultimately, I want readers to think about language in ways not thought of before: objectively, passionately, critically, analytically, and logically. This allows readers to move beyond memorization of facts to original thought (which is sort of like the difference between knowing how to add and subtract, and being able to balance a checkbook).
External
Para vivir con salud
Kathryn McKnight; Jill Kuhnheim · Kathryn Joy McKnight and Jill Kuhnheim · 2022
We are asking anyone who adopts this webbook or uses portions of it in their teaching to please let us know at this link (click here). Para vivir con salud: Leyendo la salud y la literatura is the first textbook to introduce literary and textual analysis of Hispanic literature through the lens of health, illness, and medicine. The book meets the needs of the fast-growing numbers of Spanish majors and minors who are preparing themselves for careers in healthcare, in which they will engage Hispanic communities. These students seek advanced-level study of Hispanic culture and language that prepares them to communicate about health-related issues. While a growing number of literature departments teach Spanish courses with a health focus and most require their majors and minors to take an introductory course in literary or textual analysis, the crucial connection between the study of literature and professionalization in healthcare is generally not being made for or by these students. The movements of Narrative Medicine and Health Humanities have shown persuasively that healthcare providers benefit from a humanistic preparation that promotes empathy across difference; builds an understanding of how culture, language, and history shape our knowledge of health, illness, and medicine; and trains students in narrative competence to better understand and collaborate with patients and colleagues. Para vivir con salud is designed especially for the often-required Introduction to Hispanic Literature or Introduction to Textual Analysis course in most college Spanish programs, allowing individual sections to be transformed into a learning experience that prepares health professionals and brings them into greater engagement in literary and cultural studies in the Spanish major or minor. Para vivir con salud includes classics of Hispanic narrative, drama, and poetry—pieces by authors such as Cervantes, Garcilaso, Sor Juana, Martí, Neruda, Castellanos, Pizarnik, and Morejón, less-wel
External
A grammar of Papuan Malay
Angela Kluge · Language Science Press · 2017
This book presents an in-depth linguistic description of Papuan Malay, a non-standard variety of Malay. The language is spoken in coastal West Papua which covers the western part of the island of New Guinea. The study is based on sixteen hours of recordings of spontaneous narratives and conversations between Papuan Malay speakers, recorded in the Sarmi area on the northeast coast of West Papua. Papuan Malay is the language of wider communication and the first or second language for an ever-increasing number of people of the area. While Papuan Malay is not officially recognized and therefore not used in formal government or educational settings or for religious preaching, it is used in all other domains, including unofficial use in formal settings, and, to some extent, in the public media. After a general introduction to the language, its setting, and history, this grammar discusses the following topics, building up from smaller grammatical constituents to larger ones: phonology, word formation, noun and prepositional phrases, verbal and nonverbal clauses, non-declarative clauses, and conjunctions and constituent combining. Of special interest to linguists, typologists, and Malay specialists are the following in-depth analyses and descriptions: affixation and its productivity across domains of language choice, reduplication and its gesamtbedeutung, personal pronouns and their adnominal uses, demonstratives and locatives and their extended uses, and adnominal possessive relations and their non- canonical uses. This study provides a starting point for Papuan Malay language development efforts and a point of comparison for further studies on other Malay varieties.
External
Accessible Appalachia: An Open-Access Introduction to Appalachian Studies
Lisa Day; Jacob Johnson · Eastern Kentucky University · 2024
Accessible Appalachia: An Open-Access Introduction to Appalachian Studies is an edited collection of original scholarship. The textbook offers an interdisciplinary perspective and is ideal for introductory classes in Appalachian Studies. Available free to students everywhere, this textbook features coverage of Appalachian artistic, cultural, historical, natural, and social development.
External
Slavery to Liberation: The African American Experience
Joshua Farrington; Norman Powell; Gwendolyn Graham; Ogechi Anyanwu · Encompass Digital Archive · 2019
Slavery to Liberation: The African American Experience gives instructors, students, and general readers a comprehensive and up-to-date account of African Americans’ cultural and political history, economic development, artistic expressiveness, and religious and philosophical worldviews in a critical framework. It offers sound interdisciplinary analysis of selected historical and contemporary issues surrounding the origins and manifestations of White supremacy in the United States. By placing race at the center of the work, the book offers significant lessons for understanding the institutional marginalization of Blacks in contemporary America and their historical resistance and perseverance.
External
The American Yawp Vol. II: Since 1877
Joseph Locke; Ben Wright · Stanford University Press · 2026
In an increasingly digital world in which pedagogical trends are de-emphasizing rote learning and professors are increasingly turning toward active-learning exercises, scholars are fleeing traditional textbooks. Yet for those that still yearn for the safe tether of a synthetic text, as either narrative backbone or occasional reference material, The American Yawp offers a free and online, collaboratively built, open American history textbook designed for college-level history courses. Unchecked by profit motives or business models, and free from for-profit educational organizations, The American Yawp is by scholars, for scholars. All contributors—experienced college-level instructors—volunteer their expertise to help democratize the American past for twenty-first century classrooms.
External
The American Yawp Vol. I: To 1877
Joseph Locke; Ben Wright · Stanford University Press · 2026
In an increasingly digital world in which pedagogical trends are de-emphasizing rote learning and professors are increasingly turning toward active-learning exercises, scholars are fleeing traditional textbooks. Yet for those that still yearn for the safe tether of a synthetic text, as either narrative backbone or occasional reference material, The American Yawp offers a free and online, collaboratively built, open American history textbook designed for college-level history courses. Unchecked by profit motives or business models, and free from for-profit educational organizations, The American Yawp is by scholars, for scholars. All contributors—experienced college-level instructors—volunteer their expertise to help democratize the American past for twenty-first century classrooms.
External
Mythology Unbound: An Online Textbook for Classical Mythology
Jessica Mellenthin; Susan Shapiro · Rebus Community · 2017
Mythology Unbound