The suburban city of Mount Rainier, Maryland, is doing its part to improve the water quality of a polluted river in its region: residents and organizations are using green infrastructure to reduce stormwater runoff.

Facing sea level rise, increasing numbers of wildfires, and encroachment of invasive species, managers of a national forest chose to integrate climate change into their new plan.

A federal study assessed vulnerabilities of transportation infrastructure to extreme events in Mobile, Alabama. The effort also resulted in tools and approaches that other transportation departments can use to assess and address their own vulnerabilities.

India and South Asia: From Area Studies to Ethnic Studies
Course design by Rachel Heilman, Issaquah High School.
Developed with the support of Sunila Kale (Associate Professor of International Studies) and the South Asia Center (Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington), with funding from the U.S. Department of Education National Resource Centers Program.

Dear Colleague,

I hope you are able to implement some version of this course at your institution! I have it aligned to Washington State Social Studies Standards, but it is right in line with Common Core-driven expectations and should fit well with any state’s standards. This course also very much supports the new Washington Ethnic Studies Framework.

––Rachel Heilman, March 2022

Course Description

How can understanding a particular region both shape and enhance our understanding of ourselves and the world around us? As we gain knowledge, how do we both recognize and cross the political boundaries we see on maps? In this one-semester course we will use an interdisciplinary approach to examine India and wider South Asia as we work to conceptualize the ways people, power, geography, and the past shape the region. For the purposes of this course South Asia will include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In our role as global citizens we will also expand our inquiries to the web of connections between South Asia and our own individual and social identities.

The City of Ann Arbor recognized stormwater runoff as a growing threat to the quality of their water supply. They're addressing the issue with two complementary strategies.

This ITS ePrimer provides transportation professionals with fundamental concepts and practices related to ITS technologies. This resource can help practicing professionals and students better understand how ITS is integrated into the planning, design, deployment, and operations of surface transportation systems. The ePrimer is both a stand-alone reference document for the practitioner as well as a text for education and training programs.

This educational resource provides essential information for implementation of Industry 4.0 in SME’s environment in the form of a collection of “recipes” suitable for SMEs that can be directly used by the owners and managers of SMEs. It includes practical approaches that support SMEs in the implementation of Industry 4.0 taking advantage on the decreasing costs of technologies like 3D printing, robotics, Augmented Reality, etc.

This ready-to-adopt Introduction to Business course develops students’ understanding of business fundamentals with learning design structured around timely, real-world case studies and examples. Key topics include the role of business, the global economic and legal environment, ethics, marketing, accounting and finance, and managing processes and operations. Enriched OER content (text, video, simulations, etc.) orients students to the shifting business landscape and prepares them for success in business program curriculum and the workplace.

This course was written by Linda Williams of Tidewater Community College and Lumen Learning and is supplemented by content from OpenStax Principles of Economics, Boundless Business, and videos from multiple sources.

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Our Criteria
Accuracy and Currency
How accurate is the material, based on current standards in the field?
If the material is inaccurate, does it acknowledge conflicts in perspectives and changes over time?
If the material is outdated, does it serve other purposes (to provide historical perspective, to provoke discussion, or to serve as an example)?

Within this review of Lumen's Open Educational Resource (OER) Introduction to Business by Linda Williams, I chose to pick one part of the course content to review - Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The material is based on current standards within the business ethics foundation. This portion of CSR goes over current terminology such as "green-washing" and connects to current controversies within CSR, which is important to students going forward in business. Thus far, I see that this information serves discussion purposes, as well as historical relevance. The chapter starts with President Calvin Coolidge's vantage to of business not being a part of business, outside of people being a foundation to business.

Bias
How does the material acknowledge perspectives (of the authors, of other experts in the field, of critical voices, etc.)?
How does the material present facts, opinions, and judgments?
How does the licensing of the material allow the instructor to remix or revise biased content?

The material doesn't acknowledge the author's perspective, which doesn't give a bias. It does present facts within the chapter. In my review, I am unsure if educators can revise the content; but, educators can add portions of the course OER to their classrooms, i.e. CANVAS or Blackboard.

Ability to Overcome Barriers to Engagement
How does the material engage students? Does the material reflect student experience and views?
How do students access the material? Does it require technology skills? Can it be accessed in multiple ways through multiple means?
How does the material/resource respond to accommodative and adaptive technologies?

In reviewing the CSR chapter, I was happy to see video supporting "Increased Pressure from Consumers" subsection of the chapter. This could be a great reflection of students views. This material does require technology skills in order for access to this chapter and OER book. In my review, I was able to connect to the OER course and chapter through a desktop computer, but I did not connect via a mobile phone. For accessibility (ADA) purposes, it is possible to use "talk to text" or "speechnotes" with this OER.

Publishing Process & Licensing
How was the material published? What kind of review/editing process was used?
How is the material licensed and stored? Can it be remixed and revised as needed? Is it subscription-based and if so, who pays for the subscription?
What is the 'permanence' of this material? Is it temporal (likely to be removed or taken down)? What would be the back-up plan if license/access to this material is lost?

Depending if the educator uses "Waymaker", "OHM", or "Candela", each student could pay between $10 to $25 per student as a subscription, in comparison to over $100 for a textbook. Lumen offer workshops and training within their OER program.

Relevant to Course & Institution
How does this material align with course objectives and learning activities?

At the beginning of the CSR chapter, it gives student outcomes such has the definition of CSR, describe the impact of CSR to its stakeholders, and give examples to students of what CSR is within business. This material is align to "Introduction to Business" student outcomes, as well as to AACSB International accreditation.

Relevant to Students
How does the material reflect student interests and learning goals?
How does the material give student autonomy in their learning?
How does the material encourage interaction, critical thinking, and deeper learning/processing

As technology becomes ever integrated into our food system and everyday life, our food industry and supply become ever more vulnerable to attack. Cyber attacks continue to threaten large and small companies, government agencies, individuals, and food and agriculture. This module, ‘Securing the Food Industry,’ aims to introduce the idea of cyberbiosecurity through a lecture format along with three case studies allowing students to interact and think through the concepts and materials. This module was built for implementation into college level courses with connection or interest in the food industry, food science, and agriculture as well as and technology courses focused on real world applications.
The lecture starts by introducing the amount of technology in food science and the food industry then transitions into concerns about security. After discussing multiple subtypes of security already integrated into the food industry, cyberbiosecurity is introduced. The term and definition are discussed before the categories of cyber attacks are introduced. The lecture relates these ideas back to the food industry before sharing a few real-life examples of detrimental cyber-attacks. The lecture concludes are explain the impact a cyber attack can cause, who is responsible for preventing and recovering from these attacks, as well as suggested practices to reduce vulnerabilities. Three theoretical but realistic case studies with discussion questions follow the lecture. These studies were written to act as small group discussion starters but could be used for whole class discussion, individual writing assignments, or other applications.
A list of additional resources can be found with the course material. This list provides a small sampling of additional documents which discuss cyberbiosecurity. The resources listed at the end of the lecture are not included in the additional resources document but also provide helpful information in the exploration and understanding of cyberbiosecurity. Food science resources are also included in this document to provide additional background around the food industry portion of this course material.

Securing the Food Industry is an open educational resource (OER). Instructors reviewing, adopting, or adapting the module should indicate their interest at https://forms.gle/orFRGhYs8owBP7gD6.

This assignment is designed as a final project for students in my undergraduate 3 credit non lab elective geohydrology course. Students work in pairs to analyze an actual, local contaminated site (Delphi) and use raw data from consulting reports (boring logs, water levels, chemical water analyses) to prepare a geologic cross-section, water table map and contaminant plume map. Students are assigned different lines of cross section, water level dates and contaminant types. Students examine the variety of different figures and maps to better characterize hydrogeologic and water quality conditions over the entire site and answer some assigned questions. This project is an opportunity for students to apply skills they learned in the course (contouring, groundwater flow) to investigate an existing groundwater contamination event. It also provides the kind of "practical" experience the students can highlight in a job interview.

Key words: Groundwater contamination, case study, TCE

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

The Los Angeles and the Future of Mono Lake WebQuest leads students in a guided exploration of Mono Lake's extreme environment and asks them to consider the preservation of this environment in relation to the needs of humans.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

In the wake of a hurricane and beset by an economic recession, the University of Texas Medical Branch on Galveston Island rebuilt for future resilience.

This is a problem set designed to be used in an introductory or advanced petrology course, either as an exercise in conjunction with a laboratory assignment or as a stand-alone assignment. It could also be easily modified to be suitable for an exam exercise. The problem set uses field data to help teach the determination and balancing mixed-volatile reactions and locating isograds in siliceous dolomites in a contact aureole. Concepts explored in the problem set can be used to establish a framework for later discussions of T-X(CO2) diagrams, fluids in contact aureoles, and thermal gradients in the crust.
Note that mapped assemblages have been somewhat simplified from the field data (Roselle 1997). Where brucite was observed in the aureole it has been mapped as periclase. All of the assemblages are '3-phase' except for the mapped assemblages of Dol+ Qtz+ Cal+ Tr. This assemblage can be the focus of a question regarding crossing tie-lines and the 'quartz-out' isograd. To simplify the exercise the open triangle symbols can be filled, making the assemblage Dol+ Cal+ Tr. Any of the questions below can be made a bit more straightforward by including more guiding text (or the reverse), depending on the preparation of the students.
The Ubehebe aureole is an excellent locality to use to teach metamorphic reactions in siliceous dolomites (Peck, 2003), and has the advantage of the availability of supplementary data for other exercises (mineral textures, Roselle, 1997; Roselle et al., 1997; stable isotopes, Roselle et al., 1999; remote sensing, Kozak et al., 2004). Ubehebe is also a case study discussed in Best's Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology (2003). Winter's (2001) textbook discusses the Alta contact aureole. A similar problem set could be easily made by using data from Alta (Cook and Bowman, 2000).

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Residents of North Slope Borough, Alaska, look to solar-powered ice cellars and other strategies to preserve their traditional whaling lifestyle.

With valuable cultural and dietary assets at risk from sea level rise, this Pacific Northwest Tribe developed a plan to identify community adaptation priorities and concerns, and charted a course of action to address them.

The Journal of Knowledge & Health (The Official Journal of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences) is an Open access and peer-reviewed journal concerned with Medical and Health Sciences and was established in 2004. It is supported financially by Shahroud University of Medical Sciences. The journal used to be published quarterly in the Persian language with an abstract in English and offer Advance Online Publication.
The Journal of Knowledge & Health(JKH) accepts Original Papers, Review Articles, Short Communications and Letters to the Editor in the fields of Medical & Health Sciences. All submissions to the JKH undergo a fair, supportive and completely blind peer-review process and our acceptance rate is about 15%. Manuscripts are accepted with the understanding that they have not been and will not be published elsewhere substantially in any format.

Dense populations of some microscopic algae (phytoplankton) in ocean waters can contaminate seafood, resulting in serious health problems for humans. Satellite data displayed in an online tool help fishermen monitor and avoid these harmful algal blooms.

A unique perspective on the confluence of the three basic conceptual frameworks in human experience. Contains several studies, with data, of remarkable world views of disparate cultures based on their specific cultures language. The premise is that how people experience the world, then think about it, then create a language around it, alters their perception of the world in very fundamental ways. The radical notion is that thought and language, creates the circumstances of, and contribute to significantly different realities for different peoples.

The internalization and realization of this concept is significant and can possibly radically alter and change how different cultures assess their ability to, at the most basic levels, understand other cultures realities.

This lab activity introduces students to overfishing, using Georges Bank groundfish as a case study. In Part A, students learn about overfishing by examining trends in annual haddock landings and mortality in Georges Bank from 1969-2016. In Part B, they learn about what it means for a species to be overfished by examining trends in Georges Bank Atlantic cod recruitments and spawning biomass from 1978-2014. In Part C, students explore the issue of the still-collapsed cod stocks and the role ocean warming may play in the failure to for the stock to rebound.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

When populations live in areas where natural resources are scarce, conserving them becomes critical for survival. The case study presented in this lesson introduces students to a real drought that has been developing in the Colorado River basin for many years. The Colorado River is the major source of water for people in the driest part of the United States. More than 30 million people in 7 states depend on this river as the primary source of their water.
In this lesson, students discover how changes in climate over the Colorado watershed are reducing the amount of fresh water available in the river. They also see how the population of the region that uses this water has grown, resulting in increasing demands on a dwindling resource.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)