Catalog

CYBER-HUMAN SYSTEMS, SPACE TECHNOLOGIES, AND THREATS  is our eighth textbook in a series covering the world of UASs / CUAS/ UUVs / SPACE. Other textbooks in our series are Space Systems Emerging Technologies and Operations; Drone Delivery of CBNRECy – DEW Weapons: Emerging Threats of Mini-Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disruption (WMDD); Disruptive Technologies with applications in Airline, Marine, Defense Industries; Unmanned Vehicle Systems & Operations On Air, Sea, Land; Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technologies and Operations;  Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Cyber Domain: Protecting USA’s Advanced Air Assets, 2nd edition; and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the Cyber Domain Protecting USA’s Advanced Air Assets, 1st edition. Our previous seven titles have received considerable global recognition in the field. (Nichols & Carter, 2022) (Nichols, et al., 2021) (Nichols R. K., et al., 2020) (Nichols R. , et al., 2020) (Nichols R. , et al., 2019) (Nichols R. K., 2018) (Nichols R. K., et al., 2022)

Our eighth title takes on a new purview of Cyber Human Systems and Space Technologies.

Here’s our book’s breakdown:

SECTION 1: Cyber Human Systems (CHS): Eight chapters in this section cover a wide birth of issues and questions. We start at the technological future where machines are merged with humans. CHS has a legal framework, and it is addressed sensors and consumer products. Next, we cover the artificial brain. Chapter 4 is our Hope for Humanity and Positive Global Change. Just think if the AI/ ML/ Space technologies we discuss, when put into responsible hands, could increase food production by 1-2%. How many more millions of families could have food on their tables? Cyborgs are real and here. But where is the future? Turing gave us a legacy of machines hacking machines, but the question is will CHS be hackable? We consider the management of human-AI teams. We end the section with the powerful threats of Neurostrike, impaired metaverse and CHATGPT

SECTION 2: Space Threats :We cannot underestimate technologies that create threats in or out of space. Chapter 9 presents biological threats and growth in space. Space EW is next on the menu followed up by space systems modeling and simulation tools. Chapter 12 argues for a space navy to conduct deep space warfare and exert space dominance.

SECTION 3: Space Warfare, Hypersonics, & Materials: Our resident expert on hypersonics opines on updates to space defenses based on new capabilities in hypersonic missiles. Cyber threats in space cannot be ignored and they are presented in an evolutionary format. Strategy of materials manufacturing in space and their economics are addressed.  Quantum technologies will have a significant impact on space operations and are presented. The final chapter is innovative research for wireless power in space applications.

State-of-the-Art research by a team of eighteen SMEs is incorporated into our book! We trust you will enjoy reading it as much as we have in its writing. There is hope for the future.

The Second Edition of Economics of Food and Agricultural Markets is written for applied intermediate microeconomics courses. The book showcases the power of economic principles to explain and predict issues and current events in the food, agricultural, agribusiness, international trade, labor markets, and natural resource sectors. The field of agricultural economics is relevant, important and interesting. The study of market structures, also called industrial organization, provides powerful, timely, and useful tools for any individual or group making personal choices, business decisions, or public policies in food and agricultural industries.

Readers will benefit from a large number of real-world examples and applications of the economic concepts under discussion. The book introduces economic principles in a succinct and reader-friendly format, providing students and instructors with a clear, up-to-date, and straightforward approach to learning how a market-based economy functions, and how to use simple economic principles for improved decision making. The principles are applied to timely, interesting, and important real-world issues through words, graphs, and simple algebra and calculus. This book is intended for students who study agricultural economics, microeconomics, rural development and/or environmental policy.

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.

This open-access handbook serves as both a textbook for those interested in learning about handling and using archival and primary source materials, and a guide for educators teaching these skills.

The handbook is organized into three sections:

• Reference: This section includes encyclopedia-style chapters that provide context and aids researchers and learners in understanding how archival collections and the materials in them work and can be “read.”
• Lesson Plans: This section includes activities and classes that can be used as written, or modified, by educators.
• Pedagogy: This section includes educational theories and practices that inform teaching with primary and archival sources.

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.