Catalog

The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition is designed for students in undergraduate, introductory soil science courses. The lab manual highlights the multidisciplinary aspects of soil science with laboratories focused on soil formation, classification, and mapping; soil physics, soil biology; soil chemistry; and soil fertility and management. The lab manual includes 16 different chapters, each one starting with an introduction and pre-lab assignment, followed by in-lab activities, and complimented by a post-lab assignment. In-lab activities involve field trips, experiments, observation stations, or problem sets. Post-lab assignments include online quizzes, problem sets, or laboratory summary reports.

Version 1 of the lab manual was quickly established as a go-to manual for introductory soil science courses, and was adopted for use by hundreds of soils instructors from around the world. Expanded, updated, and reorganized, Version 2 represents a significant revision to the lab manual, and exhibits a completely new design with improved functionality and accessibility. In addition to a PDF, Version 2 is available in MOBI and EPUB eBook formats and as a web book. A new laboratory, the SoilWeb Field Trip, was added to Version 2 along with significant revisions to the Compost Facility Field Trip and Soil Carbon and Respiration laboratories. The recommended readings in each laboratory now include links to free, online resources in place of conventional textbook reading assignments.

The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition is used in introductory soil science course at Kansas State University, and is based on the Soils Laboratory Manual, NC State Edition used at North Carolina State University. The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition was originally published by New Prairie Press in 2017, and was included as a supplement to ‘An Open-Source Laboratory Manual for Introductory Undergraduate Soil Science Courses’ in Natural Sciences Education, Vol. 46:170013, https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/nse/articles/46/1/170013. Supporting materials, assignments, and instructor versions of the lab manual are available at open.soilscience.info. The lab manual is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Digital copies of the Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition Version 2.0 are available for download from New Prairie Press at no cost.

Vocal Techniques is written for instrumental music education majors who are learning to sing as part of their all-level certification.

George Washington Owens was the son of former slaves who migrated to Kansas in the early 1870s to find free land, finally settling in Wabaunsee County, Kansas, near Alma. It was there that he was born in 1875. In his handwritten autobiography, Owens chronicles the difficulties and successes of working hard growing up on the plains and as a student at District School #3 of Alma, and then at Kansas State Agricultural College. After learning that no African American had graduated from KSAC (now Kansas State University), “he resolved to be the first.” He did so, graduating in 1899. Owens continues by describing how he was recruited to Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to work under Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver, and the methods he used as head of the dairy herd. While at Tuskegee, Owens recalls the marriage to his wife, Waddie L. Hill, a graduate of Clark University, and the successes of their three children. In 1908 his accomplishments at Tuskegee led Owens to becoming a faculty member at Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute (Virginia State University) where he distinguished himself as head of the agricultural program and a leader in vocational agriculture in the South. Owens recorded his life five years before his death in 1950. Ana Elnora Owens, daughter of George and Waddie Owens, donated the autobiography, photographs, and other documents, to the Richard L.D. and Marjorie J. Morse Department of Special Collections, Hale Library, in 1978.

Designed for students with proficiency of at least advanced low in Spanish and English; does not assume prior translation experience. Provides a basic introduction to selected techniques for translating written narratives, subtitling videos, and localizing videogames. Through these activities, students develop their bilingual communication skills as well as creative problem solving and critical thinking. Activities build in complexity.

This textbook is an amalgamation of material licensed under Creative Commons and publicly available resources. Materials include online textbooks, YouTube videos, and other materials published online. The text focuses on issues that impact families in the U.S.

The intent of the material presented is to provide information regarding the inequities that exist in the U.S, and their impact on families. Having an awareness of these issues and reflecting on them, especially in regards to our role in dismantling these inequities and promoting and advocating for social justice is crucial when working with families.

It is imperative that we approach the material presented with an open mind and -heart, listen for and feel the struggle of the disenfranchised, and allow ourselves to be impassioned to go beyond being an ally and instead serve as an accomplice. Being an accomplice means using one’s privileged position to create space for the marginalized, working alongside them to effect systemic change.

It further means being willing to bear the cost of discomfort because real advocacy is not restful. And until we know what the oppressed are up against and how it affects them, and the role we play in perpetuating oppression, we can’t honestly begin to effect change. I thank the authors whose contributions provide us the opportunity to explore, learn and grow.