The purpose of this course is to systematically examine the elements and factors which result in an effective speech. Tying these together are the themes of information and ethics, emphasized in each resource because they are becoming increasingly important to all communicators. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: resolve ethical issues involving speech preparation and presentation; recommend techniques for resolving issues, which may interfere with active listening; identify the most effective speech topics, qualities, content, and delivery techniques based on the specific characteristics of an audience; evaluate the effectiveness of speeches for different types of audiences; use online and library-based research to find and critique the credibility of sources of information; cite sources of information appropriately, accurately, and clearly in both spoken and written contexts; choose the most effective pattern of organization for presenting different types of information to a listening audience; evaluate the effectiveness of supporting details or evidence based on the main ideas or arguments they are used to support; choose the most appropriate pattern for organizing a persuasive speech, based on the relationship between arguments and evidence or the relationship between the topic and the audience; identify whether the functions of an introduction or conclusion have been fulfilled and will be effective when presented to a specific type of audience; create keyword and sentence outlines for informative and persuasive speeches; revise a passage written for readers so that it can be delivered effectively and engagingly to listeners; identify and use techniques to improve the fluidity and clarity of verbal delivery; recognize non-verbal techniques that communicate the speakerĺÎĺ_ĺĚĺ_s confidence and credibility in a sample speech; demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of effective, ethical public speaking by accurately and thoroughly assessing the qualities of entire informative, persuasive, and special occasion speeches. This free course may be completed online at any time. (Communication 101)

This course will help you effectively develop employment application materials for todayĺÎĺs job market by honing your resume writing skills, providing you with tools to create an impressive resume (or to improve the one you already have), and giving suggestions on developing an effective cover letter

This book is intended for the Risk Management and Insurance course where Risk Management is emphasized.

When we think of large risks, we often think in terms of natural hazards such as hurricanes, earthquakes or tornadoes Perhaps man-made disasters come to mind such as the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001. Typically we have overlooked financial crises, such as the credit crisis of 2008. However, these types of man-made disasters have the potential to devastate the global marketplace. Losses in multiple trillions of dollars and in much human suffering and insecurity are already being totaled, and the global financial markets are collapsing as never before seen.

Risk management will be a major focal point of business and societal decision–making in the 21st century. A separate focused field of study, it draws on core knowledge bases from law, engineering, finance, economics, medicine, psychology, accounting, mathematics, statistics and other fields to create a holistic decision-making framework that is sustainable and value- enhancing. This is the subject of this book.

This course is designed to introduce the student to the study of Calculus through concrete applications. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Define and identify functions; Define and identify the domain, range, and graph of a function; Define and identify one-to-one, onto, and linear functions; Analyze and graph transformations of functions, such as shifts and dilations, and compositions of functions; Characterize, compute, and graph inverse functions; Graph and describe exponential and logarithmic functions; Define and calculate limits and one-sided limits; Identify vertical asymptotes; Define continuity and determine whether a function is continuous; State and apply the Intermediate Value Theorem; State the Squeeze Theorem and use it to calculate limits; Calculate limits at infinity and identify horizontal asymptotes; Calculate limits of rational and radical functions; State the epsilon-delta definition of a limit and use it in simple situations to show a limit exists; Draw a diagram to explain the tangent-line problem; State several different versions of the limit definition of the derivative, and use multiple notations for the derivative; Understand the derivative as a rate of change, and give some examples of its application, such as velocity; Calculate simple derivatives using the limit definition; Use the power, product, quotient, and chain rules to calculate derivatives; Use implicit differentiation to find derivatives; Find derivatives of inverse functions; Find derivatives of trigonometric, exponential, logarithmic, and inverse trigonometric functions; Solve problems involving rectilinear motion using derivatives; Solve problems involving related rates; Define local and absolute extrema; Use critical points to find local extrema; Use the first and second derivative tests to find intervals of increase and decrease and to find information about concavity and inflection points; Sketch functions using information from the first and second derivative tests; Use the first and second derivative tests to solve optimization (maximum/minimum value) problems; State and apply Rolle's Theorem and the Mean Value Theorem; Explain the meaning of linear approximations and differentials with a sketch; Use linear approximation to solve problems in applications; State and apply L'Hopital's Rule for indeterminate forms; Explain Newton's method using an illustration; Execute several steps of Newton's method and use it to approximate solutions to a root-finding problem; Define antiderivatives and the indefinite integral; State the properties of the indefinite integral; Relate the definite integral to the initial value problem and the area problem; Set up and calculate a Riemann sum; Estimate the area under a curve numerically using the Midpoint Rule; State the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus and use it to calculate definite integrals; State and apply basic properties of the definite integral; Use substitution to compute definite integrals. (Mathematics 101; See also: Biology 103, Chemistry 003, Computer Science 103, Economics 103, Mechanical Engineering 001)

Small Business Management in the 21st Century offers a unique perspective and set of capabilities for instructors. The authors designed this book with a “less can be more” approach, and by treating small business management as a practical human activity rather than as an abstract theoretical concept.

The text has a format and structure that will be familiar to you if you use other books on small business management. Yet it brings a fresh perspective by incorporating three distinctive and unique themes and an important new feature (Disaster Watch) which is embedded throughout the entire text. These themes assure that students see the material in an integrated context rather than a stream of separate and distinct topics.

First, the authors incorporate the use of technology and e-business as a way to gain competitive advantage over larger rivals. Technology is omnipresent in today’s business world. Small business must use it to its advantage. We provide practical discussions and examples of how a small business can use these technologies without having extensive expertise or expenditures.

Second, they explicitly acknowledge the constant need to examine how decisions affect cash flow by incorporating cash flow impact content in several chapters. As the life blood of all organizations, cash flow implications must be a factor in all business decision-making.

Third, they recognize the need to clearly identify sources of customer value and bring that understanding to every decision. Decisions that do not add to customer value should be seriously reconsidered.

Small Business Management in 21st Century boasts a new feature called Disaster Watch scenarios. Few texts cover, in any detail, some of the major hazards that small business managers face. Disaster Watch scenarios, included in most chapters, cover topics that include financing, bankers, creditors, employees, customers who don’t pay, economic downturns, and marketing mistakes.

This course presents software engineering concepts and principles in parallel with the software development life cycle. Topics addressed include the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), software modeling using Unified Modeling Language (UML), major phases of SDLC (Software Requirements and Analysis, Software Design, and Software Testing), and project management. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: demonstrate mastery of software engineering knowledge and skills, and professional issues necessary to practice software engineering; discuss principles of software engineering; describe software development life cycle models; learn principles of software modeling through UML as a modeling language; identify major activities and key deliverables in a software development life cycle during software requirements and analysis, software design, and software testing; apply the object-oriented methodology in software engineering to create UML artifacts for software analysis and requirements, software design, and software testing; apply project management concepts in a software engineering environment to manage project, people, and product; participate as an individual and as part of a team to deliver quality software systems. This free course may be completed online at any time. (Computer Science 302)

This course will provide you with a comprehensive introduction to spreadsheets; it is designed for first-time users with very little or no exposure to the subject.

This book is suited for the Entrepreneurship or Innovation course with an emphasis on Sustainability or for a course devoted entirely to Sustainability.

What are the trends and forces underlying the changing character of the business-environment relationship? How they are creating significant entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals and companies? Around the world, the movement toward “sustainable development” has caused many firms to adopt policies and practices that reflect what is sometimes called a “sustainable business” or “triple bottom line” approach. “Triple bottom line” refers to the demonstration of strong performance across economic, social, and environmental indicators. Those measures serve as indicators of fiduciary responsibility to a growing set of concerned investors and therefore can help ensure access to capital. They also enable innovators to lower costs, create strategic differentiation, reduce risk, and position themselves for competitive advantage over rivals less attuned to trends.

The deep roots of sustainability thinking are now evident in widespread and increasingly visible activities worldwide, and Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship explores this evolution; its necessity, its implications and its progression.

A survey of several time management tools and techniques that can be applied to most work and life situations.

This course is designed for the novice who has little or no word processing experience; it provides an introduction to word processing. In it, you will explore word processing skills while also learning to create a basic business letter and a business memo.