Online courses directory (10358)

The common acceptance of globalization in today's world demonstrates the importance of understanding what happens in the global community. This course, therefore, introduces students to key concepts and principles relevant in international studies. We will explore and analyze global actors, trends, issues, challenges and concerns, as well as their interactions and the resulting implications. Moreover, we will examine and debate various critical international issues and explore a range of theoretical approaches that help us understand relations within and among the global community.

Since the late 1990s public spending in Greece was on the rise but revenue generated by the Greek economy did not keep pace. This resulted in a growing government deficit that was not made known to the European Central Bank. When the global economic downturn started in 2007 it added further to the Greek debt crisis and today Greece finds itself having been bailed out by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. This free online economics course looks at the key causes of how the economy of a modern European country can collapse. Different aspects of the Greek financial debt crisis are discussed, from rising debt-to-GDP ratios, to the fall in real growth resulting in recession. With falling investor confidence, Greece could no longer afford to borrow on the open market. They were bailed out by the EU and IMF with the proviso that the Greek government implement severe austerity measures. The Greek government and their EU partners are still negotiating about how to progress. You will learn about the options that are available including bailout and further austerity measures, debt default, or an exit from the Euro. The issues associated with each of these options are also discussed from both the Greek and EU perspectives. This free online economics course will be of great interest to finance and economics professionals who would like to learn more about the Greek financial crisis and to students interested in world or European economics and politics.<br />

Learn to understand criminal behaviour by looking at our evolutionary history and animal behaviour in general.

Silicon Valley is an area located near San Francisco in California that is the headquarters for many world leading high-tech companies such as Apple, Google, Adobe Systems, eBay and Cisco to name just a few. Why has Silicon Valley this concentration of world-class companies? In this free online course John Roos of Wilson and Sonsini discusses what Silicon Valley stands for and why today it attracts so many leading entrepreneurs in technology, life sciences and high-potential start-up companies. The course reviews the core values upon which the success of Silicon Valley is based and which companies located there still value so highly today. John Roos talks about the key skills in finance, business, IT and law found in Silicon Valley that can turn a company from a start-up into a billion dollar company within a matter of years. He talks about the importance of taking a risk in business, and why not being willing to do so is a failure to begin with. This course will be of interest to all entrepreneurs and professionals in business, finance and IT who would like to know what factors are found in Silicon Valley that allow it produce so many world-class companies and perhaps how similar successful locations can be established elsewhere.<br />

Learn about the UK's 2015 general election: how does the system work, what is at stake, and how will it affect you? Whether or not you have a vote, if you want to gain a better understanding of UK polls and political issues, join us for discussion and up-to-date insight before and after polling day.

Thermodynamics is a very important branch of science and engineering that studies the role of heat and its relation to energy and work. Having a good knowledge and understanding of thermodynamics is essential for working in many scientific and engineering disciplines such as physics, chemistry, chemical engineering, petroleum engineering and materials science. This free online course introduces you to the core concepts of thermodynamics such as the relationship between pressure, volume and temperature and how changes in one can affect the others. Examples are also given and worked out step by step. This course will be of great interest to professionals working in science and engineering disciplines who would like to learn more about the concepts behind thermodynamics, and to students who are studying physics, chemistry or engineering and who would like a greater knowledge and understanding of thermodynamics.

Designing effective interactive systems requires understanding the needs and capabilities of the people who will be using them. In this UX course we will focus on how to interact with users (or potential users) to understand what they need, what they currently do, what they love and hate, and examine human capabilities and behavior as they relate to UX design.

Learners will be introduced to numerous techniques to gather data from and about users.

This course is part of the User Experience (UX) Research and Design MicroMasters Program offered by MichiganX.

Being an entrepreneur and creating a startup requires money. This money is essential to building a prototype, hiring a great team, and launching a new product or service. How do you raise money for your startup? Venture capitalists.  

Introduction to Venture Capital will teach you how to get the money needed to run your startup. You will learn who venture capitalists are, how they think and gain an understanding of their motives, investment strategies, and what they’ll expect from you.

In addition to lectures you will get first hand inside knowledge from experienced entrepreneurs and venture capitalists on what it takes to successfully acquire money for your startup!

An 11-lesson course teaching a comprehensive overview of analytical theory pertaining to video game media. Topics covered: play and game, emergence versus progression, game mechanics, story, interpretive theory, the culture of games, violence, sex and race in games, and finally, serious games. Estimated workload: 3-5 hrs/wk for non-credit; 7-10 hrs/wk for credit.

Violence is among the top three leading causes of injury and death in the US and globally. We will focus on different disciplinary approaches and perspectives to understanding and potentially preventing violence.

Interested in learning how mobile smartphones and tablets convert digital information to and from electromagnetic signals in the radio frequency (RF) spectrum? Curious how radio designers and spectrum regulators avoid harmful interference within a network or among different wireless services? Debating whether television (TV) band spectrum or cellular spectrum is more valuable to society?  Want to build a radio transmitter and receiver, or develop a business plan for a wireless network deployment in your hometown?  Then sign up for "Understanding Wireless" today!
 
This survey style course offers an opportunity to gain understanding of the technical, regulatory, and economic aspects of the mobile wireless revolution and its impact on society.  The course is intended for a broad audience, from engineers to business majors to aspiring lawyers, but students will be most comfortable if they are not intimidated by early-college mathematics.
 
The instructors aim to expose the intricate physics, infrastructure, industry segments, markets, and radio frequency (RF) spectrum challenges behind today's popular smart phones and tablets, and to challenge students to participate in fueling the future growth of these technologies as well as their applications. The course will include such topics as the electrical transmission of information, the physical propagation of radio signals, the principles and challenges of sharing a common medium, standards and patents, spectrum licenses and auctions, privacy and security issues, and societal impact of wireless communication services and applications.

In addition to directed readings, video sessions, and learning exercises, students taking the course for a certificate will be required to take several quizzes and, in the last two weeks of the course, to develop a project selected from one of several options. We are excited to introduce you to the myriad aspects of the wireless revolution and to explore with you how wireless is changing today’s society.

The University of Notre Dame's Office of Digital Learning is sponsoring a final project competition for "Understanding Wireless" learners located in the United States and Canada. Qualified participants will design and submit a project plan to use wireless technology to improve their local community (town, school, local government, etc.), applying the knowledge and experience they have gained in the course.

Knowing your market accurately and completely is a prerequisite for successful marketing. In this free online course three important concepts related to the topic of markets are presented: Defining the nature of markets, identifying the types of markets, and a discussion of product differentiation and market segmentation. This course will be of great interest to marketing and business professionals who wish to refresh the basics of marketing and to learners who are interested in business and wish to have a greater knowledge and understanding of the role marketing plays in the modern business world.<br />

Tien Tzuo is Chief Strategy Officer with Salesforce.com, and in this free online course he discusses why businesses must move their marketing strategy away from direct-marketing campaigns to online marketing. For online marketing to work he explains why businesses must understand how the 21st century customer learns about new products or services online through online buzz, online PR, and online dialogues. He explains that when designing a complex product, a business should create a layered product that allow customers choose how complex the functionality of the product should be, and that in the modern marketplace businesses must serve the customer by providing a free trial of the product. Businesses must also provide a post-sales service to customers. This course will be of interest to business professionals who would like to learn what practices a business should implement so that it can better understand its customers to drive sales of its products or services. It is also a useful course for any entrepreneur seeking to develop an online business.<br />

In this course, you will learn to weave beautiful, structurally superior wet-weave baskets in the ancient Aquacamamata style. Underwater basket weaving is a craft that seamlessly merges scientific intellectualism, manual dexterity, and deep spiritual engagement. We look forward to having you with us on this exciting journey into art and anthropology!

Follow in the footsteps of the businessman-turned-archaeologist who brought the Mycenaean Age and Troy to life.

This course 'Unethical decision making in organizations : A seminar on the dark side of the force' will teach you how strong organizational contexts push good people towards unethical decisions. You will also learn how to protect yourself and your organization against such forces lurking in the dark.

Rainbows and unicorns make the world happy. Why not you?

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The basic objective of Unified Engineering is to give a solid understanding of the fundamental disciplines of aerospace engineering, as well as their interrelationships and applications. These disciplines are Materials and Structures (M); Computers and Programming (C); Fluid Mechanics (F); Thermodynamics (T); Propulsion (P); and Signals and Systems (S). In choosing to teach these subjects in a unified manner, the instructors seek to explain the common intellectual threads in these disciplines, as well as their combined application to solve engineering Systems Problems (SP). Throughout the year, the instructors emphasize the connections among the disciplines.

The basic objective of Unified Engineering is to give a solid understanding of the fundamental disciplines of aerospace engineering, as well as their interrelationships and applications. These disciplines are Materials and Structures (M); Computers and Programming (C); Fluid Mechanics (F); Thermodynamics (T); Propulsion (P); and Signals and Systems (S). In choosing to teach these subjects in a unified manner, the instructors seek to explain the common intellectual threads in these disciplines, as well as their combined application to solve engineering Systems Problems (SP). Throughout the year, the instructors emphasize the connections among the disciplines.

Many Americans complain that they do not understand the U.S. health reform law called the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare). They are right, and the main reason is because most Americans do not understand the basics of the U.S. health care system and U.S. health policy. Featuring some of the nation’s foremost teachers and thought leaders, this course provides students with a basic and thorough understanding of the U.S. health care system focusing on access, quality of care, and costs. Students will learn how the system is structured, how care is organized, delivered, and financed, and how the Affordable Care Act will influence the future of the system. Students will understand the U.S. health policy making structure process at the federal, state, and local levels. Students who complete this course will be able to interpret current controversies around US health policy and develop informed opinions on future policy developments.

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