Digital library
Textbooks, references and open learning resources.
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Introductory Statistics
Barbara Illowsky; Susan Dean; Daniel Birmajer; Bryan Blount · OpenStax · 2023
Introductory Statistics 2e provides an engaging, practical, and thorough overview of the core concepts and skills taught in most one-semester statistics courses. The text focuses on diverse applications from a variety of fields and societal contexts, including business, healthcare, sciences, sociology, political science, computing, and several others. The material supports students with conceptual narratives, detailed step-by-step examples, and a wealth of illustrations, as well as collaborative exercises, technology integration problems, and statistics labs. The text assumes some knowledge of intermediate algebra, and includes thousands of problems and exercises that offer instructors and students ample opportunity to explore and reinforce useful statistical skills.
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A Computational Introduction to Number Theory and Algebra
Victor Shoup · Cambridge University Press · 2009
All of the mathematics required beyond basic calculus is developed “from scratch.” Moreover, the book generally alternates between “theory” and “applications”: one or two chapters on a particular set of purely mathematical concepts are followed by one or two chapters on algorithms and applications; the mathematics provides the theoretical underpinnings for the applications, while the applications both motivate and illustrate the mathematics. Of course, this dichotomy between theory and applications is not perfectly maintained: the chapters that focus mainly on applications include the development of some of the mathematics that is specific to a particular application, and very occasionally, some of the chapters that focus mainly on mathematics include a discussion of related algorithmic ideas as well. The mathematical material covered includes the basics of number theory (including unique factorization, congruences, the distribution of primes, and quadratic reciprocity) and of abstract algebra (including groups, rings, fields, and vector spaces). It also includes an introduction to discrete probability theory—this material is needed to properly treat the topics of probabilistic algorithms and cryptographic applications. The treatment of all these topics is more or less standard, except that the text only deals with commutative structures (i.e., abelian groups and commutative rings with unity) — this is all that is really needed for the purposes of this text, and the theory of these structures is much simpler and more transparent than that of more general, non-commutative structures. There are a few sections that are marked with a “(∗),” indicating that the material covered in that section is a bit technical, and is not needed else- where. There are many examples in the text, which form an integral part of the book, and should not be skipped. There are a number of exercises in the text that serve to reinforce, as well as to develop important applications and generali
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Combinatorics Through Guided Discovery
Kenneth Bogart · Kenneth P. Bogart · 2004
This book is an introduction to combinatorial mathematics, also known as combinatorics. The book focuses especially but not exclusively on the part of combinatorics that mathematicians refer to as “counting.” The book consists almost entirely of problems. Some of the problems are designed to lead you to think about a concept, others are designed to help you figure out a concept and state a theorem about it, while still others ask you to prove the theorem. Other problems give you a chance to use a theorem you have proved. From time to time there is a discussion that pulls together some of the things you have learned or introduces a new idea for you to work with. Many of the problems are designed to build up your intuition for how combinatorial mathematics works. There are problems that some people will solve quickly, and there are problems that will take days of thought for everyone. Probably the best way to use this book is to work on a problem until you feel you are not making progress and then go on to the next one. Think about the problem you couldn't get as you do other things. The next chance you get, discuss the problem you are stymied on with other members of the class. Often you will all feel you've hit dead ends, but when you begin comparing notes and listening carefully to each other, you will see more than one approach to the problem and be able to make some progress. In fact, after comparing notes you may realize that there is more than one way to interpret the problem. In this case your first step should be to think together about what the problem is actually asking you to do. You may have learned in school that for every problem you are given, there is a method that has already been taught to you, and you are supposed to figure out which method applies and apply it. That is not the case here. Based on some simplified examples, you will discover the method for yourself. Later on, you may recognize a pattern that suggests you should try to use this metho
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Introduction to Real Analysis
William Trench · A.T. Still University · 2013
This is a text for a two-term course in introductory real analysis for junior or senior mathematics majors and science students with a serious interest in mathematics. Prospective educators or mathematically gifted high school students can also benefit from the mathematical maturity that can be gained from an introductory real analysis course. The book is designed to fill the gaps left in the development of calculus as it is usually presented in an elementary course, and to provide the background required for insight into more advanced courses in pure and applied mathematics. The standard elementary calculus sequence is the only specific prerequisite for Chapters 1–5, which deal with real-valued functions. (However, other analysis oriented courses, such as elementary differential equation, also provide useful preparatory experience.) Chapters 6 and 7 require a working knowledge of determinants, matrices and linear transformations, typically available from a first course in linear algebra. Chapter 8 is accessible after completion of Chapters 1–5.
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Introductory Statistics
Douglas Shafer; Zhiyi Zhang · Saylor Foundation · 2012
In many introductory level courses today, teachers are challenged with the task of fitting in all of the core concepts of the course in a limited period of time. The Introductory Statistics teacher is no stranger to this challenge. To add to the difficulty, many textbooks contain an overabundance of material, which not only results in the need for further streamlining, but also in intimidated students. Shafer and Zhang wrote Introductory Statistics by using their vast teaching experience to present a complete look at introductory statistics topics while keeping in mind a realistic expectation with respect to course duration and students' maturity level. Over time the core content of this course has developed into a well-defined body of material that is substantial for a one-semester course. Shafer and Zhang believe that the students in this course are best served by a focus on that core material and not by an exposure to a plethora of peripheral topics. Therefore in writing Introduction to Statistics they have sought to present only the core concepts and use a wide-ranging set of exercises for each concept to drive comprehension. As a result Introduction to Statistics is a smaller and less intimidating textbook that trades some extended and unnecessary topics for a better-focused presentation of the central material. You will not only appreciate the depth and breadth of exercises in Introduction to Statistics, but you will also like the close attention to detail that Shafer and Zhang have paid to the student and instructor solutions manuals. This is one of few books on the market where the textbook authors have written the solutions manuals to maintain the integrity of the material. In addition, in order to facilitate the use of technology with the book the authors included “large data set exercises,” where appropriate, that refer to large data sets that are available on the web, and for which use of statistical software is necessary.
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Basic Analysis: Introduction to Real Analysis
Jirí Lebl · Jirí Lebl · 2016
This free online textbook (e-book in webspeak) is a one semester course in basic analysis. This book started its life as my lecture notes for Math 444 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in the fall semester of 2009, and was later enhanced to teach Math 521 at University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). A prerequisite for the course is a basic proof course. It should be possible to use the book for both a basic course for students who do not necessarily wish to go to graduate school, but also as a first semester of a more advanced course that also covers topics such as metric spaces.
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OpenIntro Statistics
David Diez; Christopher Barr; Mine Cetinkaya-Rundel · OpenIntro · 2019
OpenIntro Statistics covers a first course in statistics, providing a rigorous introduction to appliedstatistics that is clear, concise, and accessible. This book was written with the undergraduate levelin mind, but it’s also popular in high schools and graduate courses.We hope readers will take away three ideas from this book in addition to forming a foundationof statistical thinking and methods. • Statistics is an applied field with a wide range of practical applications.• You don’t have to be a math guru to learn from real, interesting data.• Data are messy, and statistical tools are imperfect. But, when you understand the strengthsand weaknesses of these tools, you can use them to learn about the world.
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Book of Proof
Richard Hammack · Richard Hammack · 2018
This is a book about how to prove theorems. Until this point in your education, you may have regarded mathematics primarily as a computational discipline. You have learned to solve equations, compute derivatives and integrals, multiply matrices and find determinants; and you have seen how these things can answer practical questions about the real world. In this setting, your primary goal in using mathematics has been to compute answers. But there is another approach to mathematics that is more theoretical than computational. In this approach, the primary goal is to understand mathematical structures, to prove mathematical statements, and even to invent or discover new mathematical theorems and theories. The mathematical techniques and procedures that you have learned and used up until now have their origins in this theoretical side of mathematics. For example, in computing the area under a curve, you use the fundamental theorem of calculus. It is because this theorem is true that your answer is correct. However, in your calculus class you were probably far more concerned with how that theorem could be applied than in understanding why it is true. But how do we know it is true? How can we convince ourselves or others of its validity? Questions of this nature belong to the theoretical realm of mathematics. This book is an introduction to that realm. This book will initiate you into an esoteric world. You will learn and apply the methods of thought that mathematicians use to verify theorems,explore mathematical truth and create new mathematical theories. This will prepare you for advanced mathematics courses, for you will be better able to understand proofs, write your own proofs and think critically and inquisitively about mathematics. This text has been used in classes at: Virginia Commonwealth University, Lebanon Valley College, University of California - San Diego, Colorado State University, Westminster College, South Dakota State University, PTEK College - Brunei,
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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.
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Sources of American Law: An Introduction to Legal Research
Beau Steenken; Tina Brooks · CALI's eLangdell® Press · 2024
At its most basic definition the practice of law comprises conducting research to find relevant rules of law and then applying those rules to the specific set of circumstances faced by a client. However, in American law, the legal rules to be applied derive from myriad sources, complicating the process and making legal research different from other sorts of research. This text introduces first-year law students to the new kind of research required to study and to practice law. It seeks to demystify the art of legal research by following a “Source and Process” approach. First, the text introduces students to the major sources of American law and describes the forms the various authorities traditionally took in print. After establishing this base, the text proceeds to instruct students on the methods they will most likely use in practice, namely electronic research techniques and the consultation of secondary sources. Sources of Law incorporates screencasts currently hosted on YouTube that actively demonstrate the processes described in the static text. Finally, the text illustrates how the different pieces come together in the legal research process. Sources of Law focuses on realistic goals for 1Ls to learn in a relatively small amount of instruction time, and so focuses mainly on the basics. It does introduce some advanced material so that 1Ls can recognize pieces of information they may encounter in research, but it does not fully cover researching materials outside the scope of the traditional 1L course. As such, it is best-suited for introductory legal research courses for 1Ls. What's New in the Eighth Edition: The Eighth Edition primarily expands Chapter 9’s discussion of the research process to compare currently available legal generative AI tools to previously existing research tools such as secondary sources and electronic citators. That expansion also addresses some of the AI tools’ limitations and further discusses how thoughtful evaluation of available re
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Introduction to Criminal Law
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing · 2015
Criminal Law uses a two-step process to augment learning, called the applied approach. First, after building a strong foundation from scratch, Criminal Law introduces you to crimes and defenses that have been broken down into separate components. It is so much easier to memorize and comprehend the subject matter when it is simplified this way. However, becoming proficient in the law takes more than just memorization. You must be trained to take the laws you have studied and apply them to various fact patterns. Most students are expected to do this automatically, but application must be seen, experienced, and practiced before it comes naturally. Thus the second step of the applied approach is reviewing examples of the application of law to facts after dissecting and analyzing each legal concept. Some of the examples come from cases, and some are purely fictional. All the examples are memorable, even quirky, so they will stick in your mind and be available when you need them the most (like during an exam). After a few chapters, you will notice that you no longer obsess over an explanation that doesn't completely make sense the first time you read it—you will just skip to the example. The examples clarify the principles for you, lightening the workload significantly.
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The Data Journalism Handbook
Liliana Bounegru; Lucy Chambers; Jonathan Gray · European Journalism Centre · 2012
When you combine the sheer scale and range of digital information now available with a journalist’s "nose for news" and her ability to tell a compelling story, a new world of possibility opens up. With The Data Journalism Handbook, you’ll explore the potential, limits, and applied uses of this new and fascinating field. This valuable handbook has attracted scores of contributors since the European Journalism Centre and the Open Knowledge Foundation launched the project at MozFest 2011. Through a collection of tips and techniques from leading journalists, professors, software developers, and data analysts, you’ll learn how data can be either the source of data journalism or a tool with which the story is told—or both.
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Storytelling on Screen: An Online Playback Theatre Archive and Guidebook
Jordan Rosin; Heidi Vogel; Sammy Lebron · Virginia Tech Publishing · 2021
Playback Theatre is a form of community-centered storytelling theater where the audience tells stories, which are then reflected by a company of actors and musicians. Storytelling on Screen: An Online Playback Theatre Archive and Guidebook is an open education resource consisting of a collection of full-length recordings of online Playback Theatre performances, and a 55-page explanatory guidebook. The guidebook, featuring a foreword by Playback Theatre co-founder, Jo Salas, explains the adaptation to online performances and some of the key concepts, roles, and forms involved in online Playback Theatre. The resource as a whole is suitable for a wide range of theatre students in courses such as applied theatre, theatre for social justice, improvisation, theatre appreciation, or acting. The guidebook contains hyperlinks to specific sections of the archive where students can see a given form or concept in action, allowing for a comparison of how different companies approach a given form. If you are an artist, educator, or theatre-maker using this resource, please help us understand your use by filling out this form https://bit.ly/playback_interest
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Interculturality for Personal Development and Organizational Leadership
Christina Page · Kwantlen Polytechnic University · 2026
Interculturality is a key competency for students and emerging professionals across a variety of fields, from business and education to health care and non-profit leadership. This book bridges academic theory with professional application, helping learners to develop self-awareness and cultural humility. This text also seeks to equip students with practical analytical and communication skills that can be immediately applied in personal and workplace situations. It also seeks to ground students in a foundation for professional leadership in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). Drawing on both established and emerging frameworks, the text exposes students to diverse perspectives on interculturality, inviting them to critically evaluate established and emerging viewpoints through reflective exercises and case studies. Additionally, this resource integrates the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), connecting interculturality with meaningful local and global action. Learners are also prepared for meaningful action through the framework of Inclusive Innovation, using tools to foster equitable environments and lead transformative change in their workplaces, organizations, and communities.
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Thinking Rhetorically: Writing for Professional and Public Audiences
Roger Williams University Department of Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition · Roger Williams University Open Publishing · 2020
Thinking Rhetorically: Writing in Professional and Public Contexts is dedicated to introducing students to a lifelong commitment of engaging with these problems that matter. As an academic discipline, Writing Studies’ contribution to engaging with problems can be applied to all areas of study and to all types of problems because we focus on the way language itself—discourse—is created and exchanged in the service of engaging problems. Writing Studies deepens students’ rhetorical awareness of how the ongoing conversations between groups of people shape and express the problems that matter.
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Music in World Cultures
Matthew Mihalka ; Justin Hunter · University of Arkansas · 2021
This text provides just a small sampling of some of the various musical styles and traditions that might be found, though the skills developed in this course can be applied to any type of music.
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Mapping, Society, and Technology
Steven Manson · University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing · 2017
This book is about how to read, use, and create maps. Our exploration of maps will be informed by a contextual understanding of how maps reflect the relationship between society and technology, and how mapping is an essential form of scientific and artistic inquiry. We will also explore how mapping is used to address a variety of societal issues, such as land use planning and political gerrymandering. You will gain insight into the technical underpinnings of mapping as a science approach, complement on-going interest and activities, or provide an applied focus for research or policy.
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Ethics for A-Level
Mark Dimmock; Andrew Fisher · Open Book Publishers · 2017
What does pleasure have to do with morality? What role, if any, should intuition have in the formation of moral theory? If something is ‘simulated', can it be immoral? This accessible and wide-ranging textbook explores these questions and many more. Key ideas in the fields of normative ethics, metaethics and applied ethics are explained rigorously and systematically, with a vivid writing style that enlivens the topics with energy and wit. Individual theories are discussed in detail in the first part of the book, before these positions are applied to a wide range of contemporary situations including business ethics, sexual ethics, and the acceptability of eating animals. A wealth of real-life examples, set out with depth and care, illuminate the complexities of different ethical approaches while conveying their modern-day relevance. This concise and highly engaging resource is tailored to the Ethics components of AQA Philosophy and OCR Religious Studies, with a clear and practical layout that includes end-of-chapter summaries, key terms, and common mistakes to avoid. It should also be of practical use for those teaching Philosophy as part of the International Baccalaureate. Ethics for A-Level is of particular value to students and teachers, but Fisher and Dimmock's precise and scholarly approach will appeal to anyone seeking a rigorous and lively introduction to the challenging subject of ethics.
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Configuration Aerodynamics
William Mason; Pradeep Raj · Virginia Tech Publishing · 2026
Practical applications of aerodynamic theory are critically important for aerodynamic design of aircraft configurations, but are often omitted from aerospace engineering curricula. Lecture Notes on Configuration Aerodynamics is an incredible resource for educating the next generation of aerospace engineering students who aspire to engage in the aerodynamic design of aircraft configurations. It shows how aerodynamic theory is applied in practice, giving students insight into what a career in aerodynamics entails. This open textbook offers a design-oriented perspective of the development and analysis of aircraft aerodynamics. Based on his academic experience as a professor and his industrial experience at Grumman, Mason presents decades of relevant knowledge and wisdom of a large number of exceptional researchers and practicing engineers. Extensive references throughout the book encourage further study of configuration aerodynamics. This book encompasses the aerodynamic design of flight vehicles with emphasis on flow fields and configuration concepts. Mason covers methodologies for aerodynamic analysis and design for flows ranging from low speed to high speed and includes case studies of classic configurations. Are you reviewing or adopting this book for a course?Please help us understand your use by filling out this form.
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Fundamentals of Math, Physics, and Statistics for Future Transportation Professionals
Anurag Pande; Peyton Ratto; Ahmed Farid · Mavs Open Press · 2024
This textbook and OER material cover tools and basic knowledge required to master the prerequisite essentials of physics, mathematics, and statistics applied in transportation engineering. To our knowledge, no such textbook currently exists to build the KSTs (Knowledge, Skills, Tools) for college freshmen’ remedial courses required by most transportation engineering graduate programs that admit non-engineers (e.g., PHYS 141, MATH 142, STAT 321 at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo). The textbook modules are intended for students with undergraduate degrees in planning and other less technical fields who are interested in pursuing transportation careers where background engineering knowledge is required. This textbook is a product of the grant OERTransport: Enabling Transportation Planning Professional Advancement awarded to the University of Texas-Arlington (UTA) in consortium with California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and the University of South Florida (USF). It was developed under an Open Textbooks Pilot grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education. However, its contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and no endorsement by the Federal Government should be assumed