Online courses directory (363)

Negotiation refers to the process of interacting in order to advance individual interests through joint action.  Contrary to what you might think, negotiations are not confined to the professional world; we often negotiate in our personal lives.  The principles that guide successful negotiations in world politics are equally important in the business world as well as our personal lives.  In fact, almost every transaction with another individual involves negotiation.  As you will learn in this course, negotiation, conflict resolution, and relationship management are complex processes.  Successful practitioners possess and apply a blend of perceptual, persuasive, analytical, and interpersonal skills that you will examine carefully in this course. In the ever-changing environment of modern business, firms start and grow by virtue of successful negotiations and by developing long-term relationships among two, three, or more parties involved, either directly or indirectly, in various business processes.  B…

The Internet has become one of the most important components of our life. We browse the Web, check e-mails, make VoIP phone calls, and have video conferences via computers. All of these applications are made possible by networking computers together, and this complex network of computers is usually referred to as the Internet. This course is designed to give you a clear understanding of how networks, from in-home local area networks, or LANS, to the massive and global Internet, are built and how they allow us to use computers to share information and communicate with one another. Unit 1 introduces you to an explanation of what computer networks are as well as to some basic terminology fundamental to understanding computer networks. You will also familiarize yourself with the concept of layers, which compose the framework around which networks are built. Next, Unit 2 explains the concept of protocols. A computer communication (or network) protocol defines rules and conventions for communication between netwo…

In this course, you will look at the properties behind the basic concepts of probability and statistics and focus on applications of statistical knowledge.  You will learn about how statistics and probability work together.  The subject of statistics involves the study of methods for collecting, summarizing, and interpreting data.  Statistics formalizes the process of making decisions, and this course is designed to help you use statistical literacy to make better decisions.  Note that this course has applications for the natural sciences, economics, computer science, finance, psychology, sociology, criminology, and many other fields. We read data in articles and reports every day.  After finishing this course, you should be comfortable evaluating an author's use of data.  You will be able to extract information from articles and display that information effectively.  You will also be able to understand the basics of how to draw statistical conclusions. This course will begin with descriptive statistic…

This course provides an introduction to the history of technology for the Science, Technology, and Society (STS) major.  The course surveys major technological developments from ancient to modern times with particular attention to social, political, and cultural contexts in Europe and the United States.  You will also think critically about the theory of technological determinism, the ways in which technology has defined “progress” and “civilization”, and the major ethical considerations surrounding today’s technological decisions. This course begins with discussions of the promotion of technology in centralized states of the ancient and medieval worlds: the Roman Empire, Song and Ming China, and the Islamic Abbasid Empire.  After a period of relative decline, the states of Western Europe centralized and flourished once again, having benefited from the westward transmission of key ideas and technologies from the East. The focus of the course then shifts to the West, to the technologies of the…

Dynamics is a sub-branch of the general field of study known as Mechanics.  It is very closely related toand often combined withthe study of Statics, which you encountered in ME102: Mechanics I [1]. In both Statics and Dynamics, we use Newton’s 2nd Law: F = ma.  In Statics, the sum of the applied forces is always zero, thus making the acceleration zero.  This was very important to the structures studied in Statics.  Catastrophe generally results when structures (like bridges and buildings) accelerate.  Very likely you are quite pleasedeven if you do not realize it every timewhen you cross a bridge that does not accelerate while you are on it, and we have Newton’s First Law to thank for it.  Newton’s First Law states that objects will continue to do what they are doing unless unbalanced forces make them do otherwise.  This law includes the law equilibrium condition that the moments will also sum to zero, and that there will thus be no rotational acceleration.  In Dynamics, the sum of the forces…

This course serves as an introduction to the major pre-Modern artistic traditions of India, China, and Japan.  It is organized into three units that focus on the art and architecture of India, China, and Japan respectively.  Each unit is structured chronologically.  Unit 1 examines Indian Art from the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 2600-1900 BCE) through the art of the Mughal Empire (1526-1858), focusing on Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic art and architecture.  Unit 2 covers the arts of China from the Shang Dynasty (c.1600-1050 BCE) through the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), detailing the interaction between art, politics, and culture throughout Chinese dynastic history.  Unit 3 introduces Japanese Art from the Jomon Period (c.10,500-300 BCE) through the Edo Period (1615-1868), exploring the effects that various sub-traditions and sub-cultures (Tang Dynasty China, Buddhism, and the warrior class) had on the art of Japan. After completing this course, you will have a comprehensive understanding of the arts and a…

This course is an introduction to linear algebra.  It has been argued that linear algebra constitutes half of all mathematics.  Whether or not everyone would agree with that, it is certainly true that practically every modern technology relies on linear algebra to simplify the computations required for Internet searches, 3-D animation, coordination of safety systems, financial trading, air traffic control, and everything in between. Linear algebra can be viewed either as the study of linear equations or as the study of vectors.  It is tied to analytic geometry; practically speaking, this means that almost every fact you will learn in this course has a picture associated with it.  Learning to connect the facts with their geometric interpretation will be very useful for you. The book which is used in the course focuses both on the theoretical aspects as well as the applied aspects of linear algebra.  As a result, you will be able to learn the geometric interpretations of many of the algebraic concepts…

This lab course supplements BIO102: Introduction to Evolutionary Biology and Ecology [1].  Although we cannot virtually replicate a true lab experience, this “lab” will allow you to become familiar with scientific thinking and techniques, and will enable you to explore some key principles of evolutionary biology and ecology. The material in this lab supplement directly relates to the material covered in the lecture and reading portion of the course.  While the lecture and reading portion focuses on big-picture concepts, here we will focus more on visual understanding, application, and practical use of your knowledge.  In each unit, you will work through tutorials related to important scientific concepts and then will be asked to think creatively about how your knowledge can be put to practical or experimental use. [1] http:///courses/bio102/…

Botany is the study of plants.  Because species in the plant kingdom have characteristics that make them distinct from any other form of life, they are particularly interesting subjects for the study of evolution and physiology.  For example, whereas most organisms are dependent on other organisms for energy, plants can capture energy directly from photons of light and convert it into a usable form through the process of photosynthesis.  For this reason, plants are referred to as the “producers” in a habitat.  Unlike the cells of other organisms, plant cells have rigid cell walls constructed from the inside out (rather than the outside in) during mitosis and cytokinesis.  Plants also have a variety of unique reproductive and dispersal mechanisms that allow them to quickly adapt to, occupy, and invade far-flung areas, despite their general immobility. In this course, you will learn the basics of plant biology.  We will begin with plant anatomy, learning the names and functions of all of the parts o…

In this course, you will study microscopic anatomy. The study of the structure of a cell, tissue, organ, or related feature is known as anatomy. Gross anatomy (or macroscopic anatomy) involves examining anatomical structures that can be seen with the naked eye, whereas microscopic anatomy is the examination of minute anatomical structures that cannot be observed without the help of visual enhancement, such as a microscope. The terms microscopic anatomy and histology (the study of microscopic structure of animal and plant tissue) are used interchangeably. Many times it will be necessary to survey gross anatomy so that when you focus in on the microscopic anatomy you will have a geographical idea of the location within the body. This course makes use of microscope slides of anatomical structures to aid in the discussions of anatomy. Unit 1 begins with an overview of basic cell structure. The study of cells is known as cytology. Cells contain numerous structures that can only be seen with the aid of specialize…

Accounting can be considered the language of business. If you are learning accounting for the first time, embracing its foundational concepts may be a challenging process. Mastery of accounting primarily rests in your ability to critically think through and synthesize the information as it applies to a given situation. You should approach the learning of accounting the same way you would approach learning a foreign language; It will take time and practice to ensure you remember the concepts. There are a number of sub-disciplines that fall under the umbrella of “accounting,” but in this course, we will be focused on financial accounting. Accounting as a business discipline can be viewed as a system of compiled data. The word data should not be confused with “information.” In terms of accounting, “data” should be viewed as the raw transactions or business activity that happens within any business entity. For example: Someone uses $30,000 of their savings to start a business. The use of these f…

User dependency on the Internet increases every day; nowadays, everyday tasks like paying bills, communicating with others, and applying for jobs are all routinely carried out via the Internet.  While the Internet represents a huge network, it is meaningless without the applications that it supports.  These applications enable user interaction and facilitate everyday activities.  In this course, we will learn about the design and implementation of network-based applications, focusing on Object-Oriented Programming and programming techniques both at the application layer and the transport layer of the TCP/IP protocol stack.  Additional concepts covered include text transport (moving text from one computer to another over the network), data transport, object transport, remote function calls, and, finally, class transport.  You will approach these concepts from an Object-Oriented point of view, learning to implement design patterns in your code in order to ensure software reusability (a highly desirable fea…

Technology continues to evolve and provide us with increasingly powerful mobile devices.  As a result, applications that can run on a browser must also be written such that they are compatible with mobile devices, the majority of which are now web-enabled.  Meanwhile, there is an increasing demand for native applications that can be downloaded to and run on mobile devices.  This course will address these trends, teaching you to think about the unique design and deployment issues that must be taken into consideration when developing applications for mobile devices. This course will expand upon what has been covered in CS305: Web Development [1].  We will specifically look at the tools used to design mobile applications.  We will learn about mobile platforms, mobile browsers, native applications, and best practices in terms of test usability. [1] http://www.saylor.org/courses/cs305/…

From Friedrich Nietzsche’s shocking pronouncement in the late 1800s that “God is dead” and that “we have killed him” to Vladimir Nabokov’s convention-challenging fiction, the Modern periodspanning roughly the end of the 19th century to the presentoffered a range of provocative and often cynical cultural and literary productions.  In this course, we will work to develop a more nuanced understanding of the scope of cultural and literary expression in the late 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries and a working definition of what the vacuous-sounding term “modernism” might mean.  We will attend to broad socio-historical happenings, from the birth of modernism in the late 19th century to the radical violence of the World Wars and the tragedy of the Holocaust and arrive at the post-modern moment, our post-colonial and technologically and economically globalized village.  While offering this historical context, the course focuses on the cultural and literary movements from the “art for…

Multivariable Calculus is an expansion of Single-Variable Calculus in that it extends single variable calculus to higher dimensions.  You may find that these courses share many of the same basic concepts, and that Multivariable Calculus will simply extend your knowledge of functions to functions of several variables.  The transition from single variable relationships to many variable relationships is not as simple as it may seem; you will find that multi-variable functions, in some cases, will yield counter-intuitive results. The structure of this course very much resembles the structure of Single-Variable Calculus I and II.  We will begin by taking a fresh look at limits and continuity.  With functions of many variables, you can approach a limit from many different directions.  We will then move on to derivatives and the process by which we generalize them to higher dimensions.  Finally, we will look at multiple integrals, or integration over regions of space as opposed to intervals. The goal of Mu…

The main purpose of this course is to bridge the gap between introductory mathematics courses in algebra, linear algebra, and calculus on one hand and advanced courses like mathematical analysis and abstract algebra, on the other hand, which typically require students to provide proofs of propositions and theorems.  Another purpose is to pose interesting problems that require you to learn how to manipulate the fundamental objects of mathematics: sets, functions, sequences, and relations.  The topics discussed in this course are the following: mathematical puzzles, propositional logic, predicate logic, elementary set theory, elementary number theory, and principles of counting.  The most important aspect of this course is that you will learn what it means to prove a mathematical proposition.  We accomplish this by putting you in an environment with mathematical objects whose structure is rich enough to have interesting propositions.  The environments we use are propositions and predicates, finite sets and…

This introductory course in biology starts at the microscopic level, with molecules and cells.  Before we get into the specifics of cell structure and behavior, however, let’s take a cursory glance at the field of biology more generally.  Though biology as we know it today is a relatively new field, we have been studying living things since the beginning of recorded history.  The invention of the microscope was the turning point in the history of biology; it paved the way for scientists to discover bacteria and other tiny organisms, and ultimately led to the modern cell theory of biology. You will notice that, unlike the core program courses you took in chemistry and physics, introductory biology does not have many mathematical “laws” and “rules” and does not require much math.  Instead, you will learn a great number of new terms and concepts that will help you describe life at the smallest level.  Over the course of this semester, you will recognize the ways in which the tiniest of molecules…

This course will introduce you to the major concepts of and debates surrounding industrial and organizational psychology. Industrial and organizational psychology is the application of psychological research and theory to human interaction (both with other humans and with human factors, or machines and computers) in the workplace. The phrase “industrial and organizational psychology” (sometimes referred to as “I/O”) may be somewhat misleading, as the field deals less with actual organizations and/or industries and more with the people in these areas. As mentioned above, “I/O” is an applied psychological science, which means that it takes research findings and theories that may have originally been used to explain a general phenomenon of human behavior and applies them to human behavior in a specific setting (here, the workplace). Consider, for example, the fact that many jobs require applicants to take a personality test. Psychologists originally developed this test to detect and diagnose abnorm…

This course will introduce you to the art and architecture of the African continent from the prehistoric to the present. The objects, images, and sites featured in this course represent a small cross-section of the diverse ethnic and artistic heritage in Africa. This course emphasizes the role of art as manifested in the lifestyles, spiritualities, and philosophies of particular African societies, while also breaching aesthetic principles and the study and display of African art. Many works produced in Africa are used for spiritual purposes that include ritual and performance. The study of masks and ceremonies will enable you to become more familiar with the significant role art plays in the everyday lives of the citizens of African nations. For example, most traditional African art was not meant to be displayed, but rather viewed in use and in motion, especially in mixed-media masquerades. Body adornment and textiles have long been important forms of visual communication and expression in Africa, whereas pai…

Immunology is the study of our immune system, a highly sophisticated system that defends us against all disease-causing invaders by identifying and neutralizing such threats. Even though we might get sick every now and then, the immune system does an incredible job of warding off infection given how many infectious agents (thousands!) we come into contact with every day. This becomes most apparent when a healthy individual compares himself or herself to an individual with little or no immune response who cannot survive in a normal environment and must rely on specialized rooms much cleaner than even a surgery room. Before the discovery of immunity, we used to associate sickness and disease with various superstitions and beliefs. Only with the discovery of bacteria, viruses, and our own cells did scientists slowly piece together the modern theory of our immune system. Our overall system can be broken down into two sub-systems, each with its own unique cells, molecules, and functions. Our cells are in turn capa…