Tstc Publishing Spring 2009 Catalog

Forthcoming Titles Asbestos Abatement Training for Contractors and Supervisors By Karen Hoffman Over time, with increasing documentation of adverse health effects, many studies and epidemiologic investigations have demonstrated that inhalation of asbestos fibers may lead to increased risk of developing one or more diseases. Therefore, the United States Environmental Protection Agency developed this manual as a guide for those who are about to undertake an asbestos abatement project. Prepared by professionals in the field of asbestos abatement and control, this book was subjected to review throughout its preparation by government, academic, and industry experts. Features include: • • •

History and health effects of asbestos Legal and insurance considerations Waste disposal requirements and much more

$34.95 ISBN: 978-1-934302-42-2 1st edition May 2009

TechCareers: Automotive Technicians By Helen Ginger The world of automotive repair and maintenance is always changing due to constant technological advances, both mechanically and through increasing involvement with computers. For people who are good at problem solving and are interested in a hands-on, project-based career, becoming an automotive technician is the best way to be a part of one of the largest industries in the world. TechCareers: Automotive Technicians is your guide to becoming involved in this field. Features include: • • • •

How to start your training Areas of specialization Salary ranges and benefits Profiles of current students and professionals in the field

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$14.95 ISBN: 978-1-934302-43-9 1st edition June 2009

The Algebra Workbook: A Short Review By Aprilsue Grulick Created by a developmental algebra teacher at Texas State Technical College for students who needed help refreshing their knowledge, The Algebra Workbook: A Short Review will provide the materials necessary to polish anyone’s algebra skills. Whether students are looking to pass an evaluation exam at the end of an algebra course or to review for placement/assessment tests such as the Accuplacer®, this workbook is just what they need.

$19.95 ISBN: 978-1-934302-41-5 1st edition May 2009

Topics covered include how to work with parentheses, substitution, how to manage equations, how to factor polynomials as well as 10 different practice tests for skills application. Also included is an answer key for students to check their work.

The College Algebra Helper Workbook By Dr. Clara Wajngurt The College Algebra Helper Workbook was created as a supplement to Dr. Hossein Pezeshki’s The College Algebra Helper. Its problems are designed to further student understanding of basic algebraic concepts and provide additional opportunities for application. Using this workbook will enable the development good algebra skills and a thorough understanding of the materials presented in The College Algebra Helper.

$19.95 ISBN: 978-1-934302-44-6 1st edition June 2009

Practice activities for first-semester algebra students cover the areas of quadratics; polynomials; rational, logarithmic and exponential functions; systems of equations; progressions; sequences and series; and matrices and determinants.

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New Titles The Technician’s Guide to Reading Blueprints By Sharon Bagby Being able to read blueprints — not just draw them — is a necessary skill for technicians in a variety of fields. To meet this need, Sharon Bagby has written The Technician’s Guide to Reading Blueprints based on her years of experience in both industry and the classroom. From blueprint reading basics to their use in a wide range of applications, this book is an indispensable resource for students and technicians alike. Features include: • The ABCs of lines • Scales and measurement instruments • Overview of manufacturing materials • Electrical, sheet metal and pipe drawings

$34.95 ISBN 978-1-934302-34-7 1st edition December 2008

TechCareers: Welding Technology By Karen Mitchell Smith TechCareers: Welding Technology provides a detailed overview of the foundation to become a welding technician including the benefits, job options and skill requirements for succeeding in this rewarding career. Through course listings and welding programs and personal interviews with instructors, students, employers, and employees, anyone can gain insight into this exciting career field. Features include: • Comprehensive listing of welding programs in the United States • Overview of educational requirements and career pathways • Sample degree plans and additional sources of industry information $14.95 ISBN 978-1-934302-33-0 1st edition December 2008

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Biomedical Equipment Technicians By Dr. Roger Bowles The outlook is very bright for biomedical equipment technicians, with entrylevel salaries in 2007 typically ranging from $32,000 to $42,000 annually. According to both the Occupational Outlook Handbook and professional recruiters, demand for individuals in this field will remain strong. Features include:

$14.95 ISBN 978-1-934302-29-3 1st edition August 2008

• Detailed information on career pathways, skill sets and educational requirements • Profiles of BET technicians in the field, employers, current students and instructors • Program listings, sample degree plans and additional industry resources

The Hand Tools Manual By Thomas Dutton Many technicians know the difference between standard and Phillips screwdrivers. They know Allen wrenches from crescent wrenches. However, they may not know those tools’ origins, their history, or the best ways to properly and safely use them. Thomas Dutton, a biomedical technology equipment instructor at Texas State Technical College Waco, wrote The Hand Tools Manual not only to teach technicians how to properly and safely use hand tools of all varieties from $24.95 screwdrivers to files, but also to pass along tidbits of history — the early use of ISBN 978-1-934302-27-9 tools, for instance — as well as to tell how and why a particular tool gets used 1st edition today. January 2008

Basic Electronic Troubleshooting for Biomedical Technicians By Nicholas Cram & Selby Holder A majority of texts available for teaching electronic troubleshooting are based heavily on theory and complex formulas that are not required or desired in a hands-on teaching approach.

$64.95 ISBN 978-0-9768503-0-4 1st edition August 2005

In contrast, Basic Electronic Troubleshooting for Biomedical Technicians by Nicholas Cram and Selby Holder enables technicians to understand electronic repair problems without introducing high-level engineering formulas. This objective is accomplished by presenting applications-oriented, problemsolving techniques along with pictorial representations that replace complicated theory-oriented and equation-intensive learning processes. 4 (254) 867-3208

Safety in Healthcare Facilities By Nicholas Cram & Selby Holder Everyone from a hospital CEO to an entry-level worker must have knowledge of basic healthcare safety policies and procedures. To meet this need, Safety in Healthcare Facilities by Nicholas Cram and Selby Holder provides an overview of vital subjects like regulatory and standards agencies, medical device safety, fire safety, and natural disaster response planning. Both authors have extensive experience in the field and in the classroom, and they have used that experience to inform this text. Whether you’re a seasoned healthcare professional wanting a refresher or are new to the industry and need to know nuts-and-bolts protocols, this valuable resource is indispensable.

$22.95 ISBN 978-1-934302-03-3 1st edition May 2007

Installing and Administering Microsoft® Windows® Server Operating Systems: A Projects Lab Manual By Ken Scheler Today’s computer networking students must move beyond textbook theory combined with disconnected and piecemeal assignments. To meet this need, Installing and Administering Microsoft® Windows® Server Operating Systems: A Projects Lab Manual by Ken Scheler offers a comprehensive set of lessons and assignments for students to gain practical experience installing and administering Microsoft® Windows® server operating systems. Features include: • Sixteen lessons, focused on specific topics, that build knowledge through a tightly integrated series of 40+ projects • Topics covering installing Active Directory, working with FAT and NTFS file systems, creating and administering computer accounts, implementing security, data backups, system recovery, and more • Projects that have been rigorously field tested by computer networking faculty

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$34.95 ISBN 978-0-9768503-3-5 1st edition December 2006

TAKING CHARGE: YOUR EDUCATION, YOUR CAREER, YOUR LIFE

KAREN MITCHELL SMITH

Taking Charge: Your Education, Your Career, Your Life By Karen Mitchell Smith $49.95 ISBN 978-1-934302-30-9 1st edition April 2008 Typically, college success textbooks focus on traditional higher education academic skills: note taking, test strategies, and research. However, in response to the increasing trend — especially at two-year colleges — of students immediately entering the workforce upon graduation, Taking Charge directly contextualizes these academic skills with the soft skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. In addition, all the subject areas covered in the book are related to personal growth so that students may see that these skills are not used in isolation but are, rather, an integral part of the ongoing development everyone experiences in life. Features in Taking Charge: Your Education, Your Career, Your Life include: • Personal, educational, and career applications relating to each chapter’s subject • Chapters focusing on goal setting, time management, financial planning, critical thinking, research, written and interpersonal communications, the diverse and non-hostile work environment, and much more • Success stories at the end of each chapter profiling students, graduates, faculty, and staff from around the country • Additional suggested resources as well as individual and group exercises designed to increase student comprehension and internalization of concepts presented More information about Taking Charge can be found at its Web site: http://tstcpubtakingcharge.wordpress.com.

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The Quick Math Review By Diana Gafford & Dr. Mike Hosseinpour A quick (and successful!) review of math needs a good nuts-and-bolts book to help students develop their math skills. Diana Gafford, the late developmental math department chair at Texas State Technical College Harlingen, and Dr. Mike Hosseinpour, TSTC Harlingen developmental math senior instructor, have written a math text to do just that. The Quick Math Review is a basic review workbook originally written to be used for TSTC Harlingen’s Quick Review math course, a one-week intensive review course covering topics from Basic Mathematics, Introductory Algebra and Intermediate Algebra. The basic math review workbook begins with fractions and continues into areas such as factoring, basic algebra and graphing. Gafford said the book “pares everything down to the very basic skills that students need to know.”

$34.95 ISBN 978-1-934302-06-4 1st edition May 2007

Since the inclusion of the text into the curriculum, Gafford’s Quick Review class has shown a 70 percent success rate of students who pass the class, typically saving themselves one or two semesters of basic math classes.

The College Algebra Helper By Dr. Hossein Pezeshki The College Algebra Helper by Dr. Hossein Pezeshki, chair of the mathematics department at Texas State Technical College Harlingen, provides a focused, thorough overview for first-semester algebra students in the areas of quadratics; polynomial, rational, logarithmic and exponential functions; systems of equations; progressions; sequences and series; and matrices and determinants. The book includes multiple step-by-step examples to guide students in their understanding of college-level algebra. Sets of exercises following each section further aid students in their progress. Pezeshki says he feels a large part of his role as a teacher is to motivate his students to stay in school, and he always emphasizes the power of education to them. He adds that there isn’t a treasure better than education, and that getting a good education takes time, effort and desire.

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$34.95 ISBN 978-0-9786773-2-9 1st edition August 2006

Short Math Review CD By Aprilsue Grulick A few years ago, Aprilsue Grulick’s intermediate algebra students kept saying they already knew the material being taught in the class. Some even said they just missed getting into the next class level by a couple of points on the placement exam, Accuplacer®.

$5.95 ISBN 978-1-934302-28-6 1st edition January 2008

She felt students needed a set of review materials to help them pass the placement exam and perhaps ease them through any test anxiety. So, she created the Short Math Review CD, designed to help students think about algebra and refresh their knowledge. It contains 30 test questions with multiple choice answers for practice test taking. It addresses common mistakes and lets students know how to get the correct answer.

Contemporary Math I Using MAPLE or TI-89 By Dr. Otto Wilke

$39.95 ISBN 978-1-934302-07-1 1st edition August 2007

MAPLE is a computer algebra system that was first developed at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Dr. Otto Wilke, math professor at Texas State Technical College Waco, has produced Contemporary Math Using MAPLE or TI-89 to teach students how to use the software to work problems in areas such as algebra, geometry, logarithms and basic trigonometry. It is the first textbook taught in a math survey course that teaches problem solving using MAPLE specifically. In addition, the book includes instructions on how to work problems with a TI-89 calculator.

The Ethics Reader, Volumes I & II Selected by Troy D. Williamson The function of The Ethics Reader: A Selection of Entries from the Summer 2007 Edition of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is to challenge students and teachers alike to ponder philosophical issues like integrity and moral responsibility. With articles from more than 30 different scholars, readers are bound to question their already formed opinions. They may find they know less than when they started the book, much like the famous thinker, Socrates, who said, “There is only one thing that I know for certain, and that is that I know nothing.”

$29.95 ISBN 978-1-934302-26-2 1st edition December 2007 8 (254) 867-3208

TSTC Emerging Technologies TechBriefs TechBriefs are three-to-four-page studies of new technology and occupational trends. Each brief begins with a summary of key performance indicators and recommendations for technical and community colleges. TechBriefs also address the following areas: • Technology • Jobs • Skill Sets • Trends • Timing • Relevance Recent topics examined include mechatronics, home technology integration, usability analysis, biomedical equipment information systems specialist, and various alternative fuel sources.Those topics that indicate a strong opportunity or potential for curriculum demand are then selected for detailed study in full-length technology forecasts such as those listed in this catalog.

Free Bi-Monthly Publication

To join the TechBriefs mailing list and receive this publication at no charge, email your contact information with “TechBriefs Subscription” in the subject line to TSTC Publishing at [email protected].

Mechatronics: A Technology Forecast By John H. Vanston, Ph.D.; Henry Elliott, M.S.M.E.; Jim Brazell; Eliza Evans, Ph.D.; James A. Irwin; Michael A. Bettersworth, M.A. Mechatronics is another way of saying “intelligent mechanical systems.” It’s the foundation of many 21st century enabling technologies and careers, and involves the integration of mechanical and electrical systems with control systems and information technology. Mechatronics products and processes are increasingly pervasive across a broad range of industries. These same industries are expressing a clear demand for highly skilled employees capable of excelling in these technologically advanced environments. Mechatronics: A Technology Forecast includes an overview of mechatronics technology and analysis of related occupations and salaries, an inventory of existing mechatronics curriculum and considerations for colleges contemplating developing related programs, and lists of industry experts and mechatronics companies.

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$24.95 ISBN 978-1-934302-12-5 July 2007

Biotechnology: A Technology Forecast By John Vanston, Ph.D.; Henry Elliott, M.S.M.E. Continuing advances in biotechnology have the potential to dramatically improve human health and wellness, provide more efficient food production processes, contribute to a cleaner environment, enhance homeland security and support human identification techniques.

$24.95 ISBN 0-9786773-1-5 July 2006

Biotechnology: A Technology Forecast examines fundamental trends driving advances in biotechnology, reviews current and planned research projects, includes discussions with leading biotech experts and provides strategic and targeted recommendations to increase the competitiveness of biotechnology companies in Texas.

M2M: The Wireless Revolution By Jim Brodie Brazell, Laurel Donoho, John Dexheimer, Robert Hanneman, George Langdon M2M is an acronym for Machine to Machine and the birth of a fourth generation of computing. M2M is a category of information and communication technology that combines communications, computer, and power technologies to enable remote human and machine interaction with physical, chemical, and biological systems and processes. $24.95 ISBN 0-9768503-4-6 June 2005

In many ways, M2M represents a wireless revolution, as all things are increasingly connected to the network via wireless telemetry. Analysts are optimistic that a spectrum of promising markets and opportunities abound with an established $100 billion market in 2005.

Home Technology Integration: A Technology Forecast By John H. Vanston, Ph.D.; Henry Elliott, M.S.M.E.; Michael Bettersworth; Wayne Caswell

$24.95 ISBN 978-1-934302-02-6 April 2007

Many homeowners and homebuilders are integrating digital technology into residences because of the decreasing cost of these systems. System integrators (employers) indicate a lack of available expertise in the home technology integration (HTI) sector capable of designing, installing and supporting these home subsystems. HTI includes audio, video, networking, control systems, air conditioning, security, and computer technology. As the entry cost of HTI solutions and services decreases, the market is expanding beyond large, custom-built homes and into the broader mass housing market. This publication includes an overview of HTI technology, analysis of existing HTI curriculum, descriptions of relevant industry certifications, the nature of HTI jobs and skills, a directory of more than 100 Texas HTI companies, and market drivers and constraints. 10 (254) 867-3208

Gaming: A Technology Forecast By Jim Brodie Brazell, Nicholas Kim, Honoria Starbuck, Ph.D. The game industry is not a future industry — it is a high-growth, $50 billion global industry that promises important benefits and implications to society and for science- and technology-based industries in general. Gaming: A Technology Forecast is specifically designed to provide Texas community and technical colleges with insights and data useful in identifying and initiating new technology-related programs in the field of digital games. Though this report was designed for Texas educators, its contents may also be useful to a variety of state and regional economic development efforts. Report highlights include the digital game market, game-related technologies, game industry trends, game industry workforce needs, salaries and occupations, and college gaming curricula.

$24.95 ISBN 0-9768503-7-0 February 2004

The report also discusses the unique transdisciplinary nature of gaming and potential relationships and implications of gaming throughout 21st century science, technology, and education.

Fuel Cells: A Technology Forecast By John Vanston, Ph.D.; Henry Elliott, M.S.M.E. The fuel cell industry is only now beginning to achieve its promise, and it is possible for Texas to establish itself as an “early adopter” state. Such a position will make the state attractive to manufacturing and service companies as commercialization accelerates. Given its strong, long-term position in the energy sector, Texas could easily become a leader in the fuel cell field, if the state government, industry, and academic institutions are willing to make the necessary commitments. Fuel Cells: A Technology Forecast is specifically designed to provide Texas community and technical colleges with insights and data useful in identifying and initiating new technology-related programs in the field of fuel cells including stationary, portable and mobile fuel cells. The forecast looks at the state of fuel cell development, training strategies for community and technical colleges, current fuel cell activities in Texas, the nature and rate of technical advances, and potential employment demands. It also provides forecasts and insights into the future of fuel cell development and commercialization.

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$24.95 ISBN 0-9768503-8-9 October 2003

Homeland Security: A Technology Forecast By John Vanston, Ph.D.; Henry Elliott, M.S.M.E.

$24.95 ISBN 0-9768503-6-2 September 2004

September 11, 2001, brought attention to the challenges of internal security in the United States, and led to the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Homeland Security: A Technology Forecast presents information, ideas and concepts designed to assist Texas community and technical college leaders in making reasoned decisions about the design, initiation and conduct of HS programs at their institutions. The report includes analyses of identification specialists, network security specialists, weapons of mass destruction detection specialists, WMD mitigation and decontamination specialists, concealed explosives specialists, critical infrastructure security specialists, and pattern analysis specialists.

Emerging Technology Programs: ADM, Hybrids, Computer Forensics, & MEMS By John Vanston, Ph.D.; Henry Elliott, M.S.M.E.; Michael A. Bettersworth, M.A. By anticipating and actively responding to future Texas workforce demands, community and technical college curricula can be a constructive force in attracting high tech companies to the state and ensuring that existing high tech companies have a source of appropriately skilled employees. $24.95 ISBN 0-9768503-5-4 September 2004

Emerging Technology Programs: ADM, Hybrids, Computer Forensics, & MEMS is designed to provide Texas colleges with timely analyses and actionable insights into four emerging technologies: advanced digital manufacturing, hybrid vehicles, micro-electromechanical systems, and computer forensics.

Nanotechnology: A Technology Forecast By John Vanston, Ph.D.; Henry Elliott, M.S.M.E.

$24.95 ISBN 0-9768503-3-7 April 2003

Today, there is scarcely any subject that elicits more interest and excitement in the science/engineering community, the business community, and the knowledgeable general public than nanotechnology. Current or projected applications range from more sanitary toilet seats to improved treatments for cancer. Nanotechnology: A Technology Forecast is specifically designed to provide Texas community and technical colleges with insights and data useful in identifying and initiating new technology-related programs in the field of nanotechnology, including instrumentation, tools and computer simulation, materials, electronics/information technologies and optical applications, and life sciences.

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