Courses tagged with "Information control" (1404)

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to crystalline structure, crystal chemistry, and bonding in rock-forming minerals. It introduces the theory relating crystal structure and crystal symmetry to physical properties such as refractive index, elastic modulus, and seismic velocity. It surveys the distribution of silicate, oxide, and metallic minerals in the interiors and on the surfaces of planets, and discusses the processes that led to their formation. It also addresses why diamonds are hard and why micas split into thin sheets.

Taking as its starting point the works of one of Britain's most respected, prolific—and funny—living dramatists, this seminar will explore a wide range of knowledge in fields such as math, philosophy, politics, history and art. The careful reading and discussion of plays by (Sir) Tom Stoppard and some of his most compelling contemporaries (including Caryl Churchill, Anna Deveare Smith and Howard Barker) will allow us to time-travel and explore other cultures, and to think about the medium of drama as well as one writer's work in depth. Some seminar participants will report on earlier plays that influenced these writers, others will research everything from Lord Byron's poetry to the bridges of Konigsberg, from Dadaism to Charter 77. Employing a variety of critical approaches (both theoretical and theatrical), we will consider what postmodernity means, as applied to these plays. In the process, we will analyze how drama connects with both the culture it represents and that which it addresses in performance. We will also explore the wit and verbal energy of these contemporary dramatists…not to mention, how Fermat's theorem, classical translation, and chaos theory become the stuff of stage comedy.

This course explores the creation (and creativity) of the modern scientific and cultural world through study of western Europe in the 17th century, the age of Descartes and Newton, Shakespeare, Rembrandt and Molière. The class compares period thinking to present-day debates about the scientific method, art, religion, and society. This team-taught, interdisciplinary subject draws on a wide range of literary, dramatic, historical, and scientific texts and images, and involves theatrical experimentation as well as reading, writing, researching and conversing.

What has been said of Moby-Dick—that it's the greatest novel no one ever reads—could just as well be said of any number of American "classics" like The Scarlet Letter, Uncle Tom's Cabin, or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This course reconsiders a small number of nineteenth-century American novels by presenting each in a surprising context.

This course investigates relationships between two media, film and literature, studying works linked across the two media by genre, topic, and style. It aims to sharpen appreciation of major works of cinema and of literary narrative. The course explores how artworks challenge and cross cultural, political and aesthetic boundaries. It includes some attention to theory of narrative. Films to be studied include works by Akira Kurosawa, John Ford, Francis Ford Coppolla, Clint Eastwood, Orson Welles, Billy Wilder, and Federico Fellini, among others. Literary works include texts by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Honoré de Balzac, Henry James and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

How do literature, philosophy, film and other arts respond to the profound changes in world view and lifestyle that mark the twentieth century? This course considers a broad range of works from different countries, different media, and different genres, in exploring the transition to a decentered "Einsteinian" universe.

William Butler Yeats occupies a dominant position in the lives and work of the Irish poets who followed him. We will explore some of that poetry, and consider how later poets, especially female poets, tried to come to grips with, or escape from, that dominance. As a seminar, the subject will place special emphasis on student involvement and control. I will ask you to submit one ten-twelve page essay, two shorter (five page) essays, and to accept the role of "leadoff person," perhaps more than once, That role will demand that you choose from among the assigned readings for that session the poem we should focus upon, and to offer either a provocative articulation of what the poem is about, or a provocative question which the poem confronts, and which we should grapple with, as well.

The disciplines of music history and music theory have been slow to embrace the digital revolutions that have transformed other fields' text-based scholarship (history and literature in particular). Computational musicology opens the door to the possibility of understanding—even if at a broad level—trends and norms of behavior of large repertories of music. This class presents the major approaches, results, and challenges of computational musicology through readings in the field, gaining familiarity with datasets, and hands on workshops and assignments on data analysis and "corpus" (i.e., repertory) studies. Class sessions alternate between discussion/lecture and labs on digital tools for studying music. A background in music theory and/or history is required, and experience in computer programming will be extremely helpful. Coursework culminates in an independent research project in quantitative or computational musicology that will be presented to the class as a whole.

The course offers an introduction to quantitative analysis of geomorphic processes, and examines the interaction of climate, tectonics, and surface processes in the sculpting of Earth's surface.

This course examines alternative conceptions and theoretical underpinnings of the notion of "sustainable development." It focuses on the sustainability problems of industrial countries (i.e., aging of populations, sustainable consumption, institutional adjustments, etc.); and of developing states and economies in transition (i.e., managing growth, sustainability of production patterns, pressures of population change, etc.). It also explores the sociology of knowledge around sustainability, the economic and technological dimensions and institutional imperatives along with implications for political constitution of economic performance.

This course is a survey of significant orchestral masterworks composed during three centuries. Listening assignments include 34 symphonies and 24 concertos, composed from the 1720s to the 1990s. Class discussion and oral presentations focus on the works in 18 miniature scores; prior score-reading experience is helpful. Each of the three written papers reviews a concert attended during the term. Since this is a participatory subject, each student will give oral presentations concerning composers and their symphonies and/or concertos.

This course introduces the concepts of system safety and how to analyze and design safer systems. Topics include the causes of accidents in general, and recent major accidents in particular; hazard analysis, safety-driven design techniques; design of human-automation interaction; integrating safety into the system engineering process; and managing and operating safety-critical systems.

This course introduces the concepts of system safety and how to analyze and design safer systems. Topics include the causes of accidents in general, and recent major accidents in particular; hazard analysis, safety-driven design techniques; design of human-automation interaction; integrating safety into the system engineering process; and managing and operating safety-critical systems.

This course provides an introduction to linear systems, transfer functions, and Laplace transforms. It covers stability and feedback, and provides basic design tools for specifications of transient response. It also briefly covers frequency-domain techniques.

 

This course provides an introduction to cellular and population-level systems biology with an emphasis on synthetic biology, modeling of genetic networks, cell-cell interactions, and evolutionary dynamics. Cellular systems include genetic switches and oscillators, network motifs, genetic network evolution, and cellular decision-making. Population-level systems include models of pattern formation, cell-cell communication, and evolutionary systems biology.

This course covers introductory microbiology from a systems perspective, considering microbial diversity, population dynamics, and genomics. Emphasis is placed on the delicate balance between microbes and humans, and the changes that result in the emergence of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance. The case study approach covers such topics as vaccines, toxins, biodefense, and infections including Legionnaire’s disease, tuberculosis, Helicobacter pylori, and plague.

Systems Neuroscience Laboratory consists of a series of laboratories designed to give students experience with basic techniques for conducting systems neuroscience research. It includes sessions on anatomical, neurophysiological, and data acquisition and analysis techniques, and the ways these techniques are used to study nervous system function. Training is provided in the art of scientific writing with feedback designed to improve writing skills. Assignments include weekly preparation for lab sessions, two major research reports and a series of basic computer programming tutorials (MATLAB^®). The class involves the use of experimental animals. Enrollment is limited.

This course explores the diverse ways that people teach and learn—in different countries, in different disciplines, and in different subcultures. We will discuss how theories of learning can be applied to a variety of hands-on, in-class learning activities. We compare schooling to other forms of knowledge transmission from initiation and apprenticeship to recent innovations in online education such as MOOCs. Students will employ a range of qualitative methods in conducting original research on topics of their choice.

This class looks at the special structural and practical needs of theatrical scenery and effects and how they can be constructed. We map the technical design process from initial meetings to realization on stage. The class emphasizes safety, budgeting, and problem solving. Ten 1-3 page Tech notes are required as well as a final project. Work includes actual production assignments as well as paper design projects.

This course introduces analysis techniques for complex structures and the role of material properties in structural design, failure, and longevity. Students will learn about the energy principles in structural analysis and their applications to statically-indeterminate structures and solid continua. Additionally, the course will examine matrix and finite-element methods of structured analysis including bars, beams, and two-dimensional plane stress elements. Structural materials and their properties will be considered, as will metals and composites. Other topics include modes of structural failure, criteria for yielding and fracture, crack formation and fracture mechanics, and fatigue and design for longevity. Students are expected to apply these concepts to their own structural design projects.