Courses tagged with "Brain stem" (299)

Systems thinking and environmental sustainability: solve the Rubik’s cube

Have you ever considered how many aspects of food production affect the natural environment? Every aspect needs to be considered in attaining the future goal to produce enough food for the growing population while at the same time preserving our planet. It’s as difficult as solving a Rubik’s cube; changing one aspect may affect the environment in a major way.

Systems theory, or systems thinking, is a way of understanding and working with the complexity of sustainable food production systems, which requires training in different disciplines and an approach that can address this complexity. This environmental studies course enables participants to apply the principles of a systems approach to food production with a focus on environmental sustainability.

The professors at Wageningen University

The University of Wageningen offers an excellent combination of conducting research worldwide and educating in the area of ‘healthy food and living environment’. For each course, professors from specific fields of expertise are eager to teach and share the University’s mission: “Explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”.

This is why you should sign up

Sign up as a student if you want to acquire knowledge about environmental sustainability and the way systems thinking helps in decision-making in the complexity of food production. After successful completion of both practice and graded assignments related to this course, you will:

• Understand the complexity and diversity of food production systems
• Understand the principles of system analysis and apply it to environmental issues in food production
• Understand evaluation methods for the environmental impact of food production systems in different contexts and levels (e.g. farm, regional and global) Be able to evaluate strong and weak points of different food production systems regarding environmental sustainability
• Be able to contribute to a discussion about environmental sustainability and food production and ask relevant questions

You will become intimately acquainted with the operational principles of neuronal “life-ware” (synapses, neurons and the networks that they form) as well as with recent ideas about how the dynamics of these networks generate the “neuronal code.” As an aperitif we will highlight present brain-excitements and for dessert we will discuss the future of brain research

Effective and meaningful engagement with complex modern medical systems requires an overarching set of tools.

System dynamics is such a tool, allowing health practitioners to model and simulate problems ranging from the molecular level to the entire healthcare system and beyond. This introductory course will teach you the fundamental principles of system dynamics as you learn how to use system dynamics software to explore problems relevant to your field of health. Whether you work in molecular biology, clinical medicine, health policy, or any other health-related field, this course will equip you to investigate the effects of time delays, feedback and system structure. You will learn how to interpret the causes of typical system behaviors such as growth, decay and oscillation in terms of the underlying system properties, and to rapidly develop computer-based models and run simulations to gain insight into the problems in your domain.

This course will empower you with a deeper understanding and an enhanced capacity to achieve useful interventions in healthcare.

*Note - This is an Archived course*

As fossil-based fuels and raw materials contribute to climate change, the use of renewable materials and energy as an alternative is in full swing. This transition is not a luxury, it is has become a necessity. We can use the unique properties of microorganisms to convert organic waste streams into biomaterials, chemicals and biofuels. This course provides the insights and tools for biotechnological processes design in a sustainable way. Five experienced course leaders will teach you the basics of industrial biotechnology and how to apply these to the design of fermentation processes for the production of fuels, chemicals and foodstuffs. Throughout the course, you will be challenged to design your own biotechnological process and evaluate its performance and sustainability. The undergraduate course includes guest lectures from industry as well as from the University of Campinas in Brazil, with over 40 years  of experience in bio-ethanol production. The course is a joint initiative of TU Delft, the international BE-Basic consortium and University of Campinas.

LICENSE

The course materials of this course are Copyright Delft University of Technology and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Netherlands License.

This is a past/archived course. At this time, you can only explore this course in a self-paced fashion. Certain features of this course may not be active, but many people enjoy watching the videos and working with the materials. Make sure to check for reruns of this course.

This is a course about addiction to drugs and other behaviors. It will describe what happens in the brain and how this information helps us deal with and overcome addiction. It will also discuss other topics such as government policy and our vulnerability to take drugs.

Have you ever wondered why ventilation helps to cool down your hot chocolate? Do you know why a surfing suit keeps you warm? Why iron feels cold, while wood feels warm at room temperature? Or how air is transferred into aqueous liquids in a water treatment plant? How can we sterilize milk with the least amount of energy? How does medicine spread in our tissue? Or how do we design a new cooling tower of a power plant? All these are phenomena that involve heat transfer, mass transfer or fluid flow. 

Transport Phenomena investigates such questions and many others, exploring a wide variety of applications ranging from industrial processes to environmental engineering, to transport processes in our own body and even simple daily life problems
 
In this course we will look into the underlying concepts of these processes, that often take place simultaneously, and will teach you how to apply them to a variety of real-life problems. You will learn how to model the processes and make quantitative statements.  

LICENSE
The course materials of this course are Copyright Delft University of Technology and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC-BY-NC-SA) 4.0 International License.

This course explores the brain bases of bilingualism by discussing literature relevant to differences in age of initial learning, proficiency, and control in the nonverbal, single language and dual-language literature. Participants will learn about the latest research related to how humans learn one or two languages and other cognitive skills.

This water sustainability course (PH242x) from Tufts University focuses on the engineering and public health components needed to achieve the conservation of safe water locally and globally. Together, we will explore how to create sustainable interventions geared towards improving population health.

This course provides an interdisciplinary framework for understanding the place of water in health policy and engineering by delving into the complex social, economic, political and scientific factors that influence how we approach these critical health and water related challenges. 

We identify threats to our water supply, including climate change, urbanization, agriculture and emerging contaminants. We lead a water sampling field trip and analyze the results in order to understand how water quality is assessed and regulated. We learn how to conduct a “Risk Assessment” as it relates to human and environmental health. The class will debate about issues such as water privatization, social and environmental justice and hydrofracturing. We’ll learn about point of use interventions for local interventions and take a field trip to the massive Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to see firsthand how large scale interventions are built and managed. Lastly, we will learn about various anthological determinants that drive the sustainability of interventions, review strategies for water management in developing and developed countries, and discuss the opportunities and challenges with implementing these solutions.

In addition to lectures hosted by Tufts Professors Dr. David M. Gute and Dr. Jeffrey K. Griffiths, the course features field trips, and guest lecturers comprised of renowned water professionals, entrepreneurs and scientists from the fields of public health, engineering, environmental science and health policy.

We hope that your ability to conceptualize and address water-related issues will advance as a result of the lecture content, in class demonstrations and global dialogues. To achieve this goal, we strongly encourage active participation and discussion with the professors, students and water professionals from across the globe. 

Lastly, check out the content from The Biology of Water and Health – Fundamentals (PH241x), an archived course that provides a provocative introduction to topics such as the vital role of sanitation and hygiene, waterborne diseases, environmental epidemiology, and water contaminants.

Tufts University is proud to offer the two Biology of Water and Health courses (PH241x & PH242x) in partnership with the Open Education Consortium (OECx). All course content is openly licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license.

The Biology of Water and Health from Tufts University is a water sustainability course (PH241x) that examines increasingly critical water-related issues through a distinctly global and interdisciplinary lens.

This course focuses on Fundamentals of water and its relationship to human health. You will explore the multi-faceted ways in which water and human health are interrelated, including the influence of waterborne pathogens on public health and the central role of water quantity and quality in preserving health through adequate sanitation and hygiene. You will be introduced to a brief history of U.S. water distribution, waterborne disease cases, epidemiological approaches to public health engineering, and historical evidence of lead (Pb) as a water contaminant.

We hope that the unique interdisciplinary approach of this course gives the general public, as well as health professionals in a variety of fields, a provocative introduction to the public health and human engineering components involved in the provision of safe water and sanitation.

Sign up for The Biology of Water and Health – Sustainable Interventions (PH242x) to further expand your knowledge and professional network related to water sustainability. Starts on September 29, 2015. 

Tufts University is proud to offer the two Biology of Water and Health courses (PH241x & PH242x) in partnership with the Open Education Consortium (OECx). All course content is openly licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. After the course ends, materials will be available through edX as well as on the Tufts University Open Courseware website (ocw.tufts.edu).

This course is about how the brain creates our sense of spatial location from a variety of sensory and motor sources, and how this spatial sense in turn shapes our cognitive abilities. ***April 2016 Update: The course materials can be accessed by selecting the "September 1 2015" session from the "Sessions" menu.***

An introduction to key challenges and concepts important to understanding the current status and determinants of global health.

Chemistry and biology are traditionally taught as separate subjects at the high school level, where students memorize fundamental scientific principles that are universally accepted. However, at the university level and in industry, we learn that science is not as simple as we once thought. We are constantly confronted by questions about the unknown and required to use creative, integrated approaches to solve these problems. By bringing together knowledge from multidisciplinary fields, we are empowered with the ability to generate new ideas. The goal of this course is to develop skills for generating new ideas at the interface between chemistry and biology by analyzing pioneering studies.

When should I register?
Registration will be open throughout the course.

The course will cover the basic guiding principles of the Clinical Psychology of Children and Young People and illustrate how theories of psychological development can be applied in understanding children and young people's mental health and well being within a wider societal and cultural context. We will also discuss current psychological models of prevention and treatment for Children and Young People.

Life on our planet is diverse. While we can easily recognize this in our everyday surroundings, an even more diverse world of life can be seen when we look under a microscope. This is the world of microorganisms. Microorganisms are everywhere, and although some are notorious for their roles in human disease, many play important roles in sustaining our global environment. Among the wide variety of microorganisms, here we will explore those that thrive in the most extreme environments, the extremophiles.

In this course, we will discover how diverse life is on our planet and consider the basic principles that govern evolution. We will also learn how we can classify organisms. Following this, we will have a look at several examples of extreme environments, and introduce the microorganisms that thrive under these harsh conditions. We will lay emphasis on the thermophiles, extremophiles that grow at high temperatures and will study how proteins from thermophiles can maintain their structure and function at high temperatures.

Do you want to learn about how brains perceive the world? Join us in this third module as we explore sensation, perception and the physiology of functional regions of the brain. Each lesson will be media- and content-rich and will challenge you to master material with interactive segments that depend on your feedback to move forward in the lesson.

Lessons will also be filled with beautiful animations, documentaries and DIY experiments that allow you to explore the richness and complexity of the brain.

Our forums will provide you with a place to meet other students around the world. You can learn from each other as well as discuss questions with members of our team during office hours.

Please note that this course is NOT hosted on the edX platform, but can be found at www.mcb80x.org. To receive a certificate for this course, you must register for the course through EdX and successfully complete the final exam during an established exam period.

HarvardX requires individuals who enroll in its courses on edX to abide by the terms of the edX honor code. HarvardX will take appropriate corrective action in response to violations of the edX honor code, which may include dismissal from the HarvardX course; revocation of any certificates received for the HarvardX course; or other remedies as circumstances warrant. No refunds will be issued in the case of corrective action for such violations. Enrollees who are taking HarvardX courses as part of another program will also be governed by the academic policies of those programs.

HarvardX pursues the science of learning. By registering as an online learner in an HX course, you will also participate in research about learning. Read our research statement to learn more.

Harvard University and HarvardX are committed to maintaining a safe and healthy educational and work environment in which no member of the community is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination or harassment in our program. All members of the HarvardX community are expected to abide by Harvard policies on nondiscrimination, including sexual harassment, and the edX Terms of Service. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact harvardx@harvard.edu and/or report your experience through the edX contact form.

There are over 100 million horses, donkeys and mules in the world today and owners of these animals can be found on almost every continent and in almost every society. The Horse Course will cover many unique aspects of equine ownership and touch upon the science behind many of today’s management practices.

The rich history of wildlife management and recreational hunting plays an important role in the evolving face of conservation. This course will explore the ethics, science, and democracy of conservation, hunting, and The Land Ethic in North America.

The Meat We Eat is a course designed to create a more informed consumer about the quality, safety, healthfulness and sustainability of muscle foods and address current issues in animal agriculture in developed and developing countries.

The New Nordic Diet is a new food culture which emphasizes gastronomy, health, and environment. This course presents the scientific background of the New Nordic Diet, the world’s largest research project into adult and child health and well-being, and will help you better understand the global challenges such as obesity and obesity-related diseases.

Concerned about how the digital age is impacting your well-being? Looking for ways to find balance? This course takes the ancient practice of yoga and translates it into modern day science with practical applications.

You will learn how to practice yoga on the mat as well as in your everyday life using aspects of yoga that are immediately applicable to you. Having taught yoga to thousands of people just like you, we have reduced the practice down to the nectar of what really works.

Your team of instructors brings a dynamic blend of science and practice to the course. Stacy and Dave Dockins own four yoga studios in Texas and have trained hundreds of instructors to teach yoga as a life-transforming practice rooted in mindfulness. Dr. Catherine Spann and Dr. George Siemens are researching what it means to be human in a digital age at the University of Texas at Arlington’s LINK Research Lab. With years of experience in online education and psychological research, they bring expertise in learning and well-being in the digital age.

This course is for anyone interested in learning the science and practice of yoga. No previous yoga experience is needed! We welcome those who are interested in learning the basics of yoga postures as well as experienced yoga practitioners or instructors looking to deepen their practice.

By signing up for this course, you will have the opportunity to meet and discuss yoga and meditation with people from across the world. Encourage friends, family, and colleagues to sign up with you!