Have you ever wondered why humans walk on two legs rather than four? In this course, we will explore how science investigates this unusual form of locomotion. We will start our investigation by looking at the mechanics of upright walking in humans and comparing that to bipedal locomotion in large birds, bears, and apes. We will journey back millions of years into the human fossil record in an effort to understand how and why upright walking evolved. Around our first birthday, each of us learned how to walk, but how does this happen? With bipedalism came costly trade-offs as well-- we’ll examine these aches and pains as byproducts of our evolutionary history. This course will take an intentionally interdisciplinary approach to studying how and why humans move bipedally. You will be exposed to anthropology, biomechanics, anatomy, evolution and paleontology to explore something deeply human: upright walking. This course was developed in collaboration with SmithsonianX (National Musuem of Natural History and the National Zoological Park).

Sustainability is indispensable for the future of humankind. Sustainability science has emerged as an effort to tackle the complex problems the world is facing today. Lecturers from different disciplines provide a holistic overview of key issues in sustainability including industrial pollution, an aging society, human-nature connection, urban planning, resilience, environmental governance, and education for sustainable development. In this course, you will learn about historical and current sustainability issues that have emerged around the world, as well as some of the approaches that have been used to solve them. You will be exposed to industrial and water pollution control issues, in addition to challenges caused by an aging and shrinking population. You will also learn about the human-nature connection and initiatives that aim to create sustainable societies in harmony with nature, based on the concept of Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes (SEPLS). You will explore how ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) approaches can be used to reestablish the human-nature connection through re-naturalization of damaged environments. This course will also consider an urban planning point of view by exploring the value of an urban-rural land use mixture to create new sustainable societies and resilient megacities. Finally, you will learn about environmental governance, a crucial element for progress towards a sustainable future. You will be introduced to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as a learning method for sustainable development and discuss international debates on ESD. Japanese perspectives are emphasized throughout the course in the hopes of providing concrete value to solving contemporary sustainability issues.

This health course will focus on the mental health issues of people with intellectual disability. You will learn about the complexities of diagnosing mental health issues in people with intellectual disabilities and the types of disorders, assessments, screenings, and treatments used. There will also be a special focus on the legal and ethical complexities in health practice with patients who often require substituted consent. This course is open to anyone, but will be of particular relevance to those in the field of advanced medical, allied health, and disability. It can also be used as workforce education for professionals who are interested in mental health.

This psychology course is all about how behavior works. You will learn the theories of motivation, hunger, eating, the obesity epidemic, and sexual behavior. We will also examine theories of emotion and observe how developmental psychologists study phenomena across a lifespan. We will explore cognitive development, the history of intelligence and testing, and the relationship between creativity and mental illness. The course concludes with in-depth coverage of the fields of personality psychology and social psychology. This course includes video-based lectures and demonstrations, interviews with real research psychologists and a plethora of practice questions to help prepare you for that AP® Psychology exam. This is the fourth in a six-course AP® Psychology sequence designed to prepare you for the AP® Psychology exam. Additional Courses: AP® Psychology - Course 1: What is Psychology AP® Psychology - Course 2: How the Brain Works AP® Psychology - Course 3: How the Mind Works AP® Psychology - Course 5: Health and Behavior AP® Psychology - Course 6: Exam Preparation & Review

The freedom to call for change, and to amplify that call through mass mobilization, is vital for open and rights-respecting societies. Protests enable people to air grievances, express opinions, petition for remedies for wrongdoing, and to publicly demand accountability. Through protest, those who have been silenced, disempowered or disenfranchised can claim their voice, their strength and their political power. Yet protests around the world are being met with obstruction, repression, punishment, and other forms of restrictions. Many people sense that these restrictions are often wrong. But do you know why they're wrong, and what alternatives you can rightfully demand? You will know this and more after taking this introductory course on the right to protest. You will be able to outline the human rights standards and principles that provide protection, and you will be able to identify which infringements on the freedom to protest are human rights violations. Most importantly, you will be able to defend the right to protest by taking action based on what you learn in this course. Be prepared for active learning, connecting with course participants from around the world, and becoming part of a global community dedicated to defending human rights!

Urban design, inequality and segregation are strongly connected. Cities around the world, from the Global South to the Global North, are facing a rise in inequality and socio-economic segregation. The wealthy are increasingly concentrating in the most attractive urban areas and poverty is spreading to the suburbs. Rising levels of segregation have major consequences for the social sustainability of cities and leads to unequal life opportunities depending on where in the city you live. In this course, aimed at a broad range of professionals, from urban planners and architects to geographers, you will learn what the main drivers and indicators of urban inequality and segregation are, using examples from cities from all over the world. You will learn how segregation is measured, how to interpret the results of the analyses of segregation and how to relate these insights to urban design. With this knowledge, you will be able to analyze how these issues may be affecting your local environment. Additionally, we will present some historical examples of how urban design has played a role shaping spatial inequality and segregation in a selection of case study cities. This will help you to get a better understanding of how urban design can reduce spatial inequality and segregation. The course is taught by the editors of the new SpringerOpen book “Urban socio-economic segregation and income inequality. A global perspective” and senior experts from the Urban Design section of TU Delft, which is ranked number 2 in the QS World University Rankings in the field of Architecture.

This psychology course will show you how the brain works. You will learn the basics of neuroscience, genetics and evolutionary psychology. We will also cover the visual system and other sensory systems. The course concludes with coverage of the variety of states of consciousness. This course includes video-based lectures and demonstrations, interviews with real research psychologists and a plethora of practice questions to help prepare you for that AP® Psychology exam. This is the second in a six-course AP® Psychology sequence designed to prepare you for the AP® Psychology exam. Additional Courses: AP® Psychology - Course 1: What is Psychology AP® Psychology - Course 3: How the Mind Works AP® Psychology - Course 4: How Behavior Works AP® Psychology - Course 5: Health and Behavior AP® Psychology - Course 6: Exam Preparation & Review

While the advances in genomics promise to usher a new era in medical practice and create a major paradigm shift in patient care, the ethical, legal and social impact of genomic medicine will be equally significant. The information and potential use of genomic discoveries are no longer issues left for scientists and medical professionals to handle, but have become ones for the public at large. Rarely a day passes without a genomics-related story reported in the media. By the end of this course, students will be able to better understand the field of genomics; be familiar with various online databases and resources; and understand and appreciate the medical, social, ethical, and legal issues associated with the availability of personal genomic information. Given the diversity of the topics and the specific expertise required to cover each, this is a unique cross-disciplinary course where faculty from different disciplines including genetics, computational sciences, bioinformatics, genetic counseling, bioethics, law, and business will participate in lecturing. We have assembled a team of experts from various departments at Georgetown University and other institutions, to teach this comprehensive online genomics course. For a detailed description of the weekly topics, see the course outline .

This course includes Burmese translations of most of the videos, case studies and quizzes. Around the globe, there are public servants and civic leaders who want to create a better future for their fellow citizens. The challenge is how to deliver—how to create new practices, build new institutions, implement new policies, and transform incentives to sustain transformation. This course is about the “hows” of generating institutional change in hard places. Each week we focus on a different kind of challenge. You will read a case study, examine a problem in detail, help create a “solutions" toolkit, and then apply these insights to a second case. The course introduces concepts and insights from applied political economy and the science of delivery. Topics include: Reducing delay, error, and diversion of funds in citizen services Using citizen monitoring and community-driven projects to improve services in rural areas Preventing conflicts of interest or self-dealing from blocking institutional reform; building trust and community and changing public expectations Overcoming capacity traps (what to do when brain drain, political turbulence, or other problems de-skill government) Facilitating coordination at the cabinet level Developing a strategy and the incentives to sustain change. Drawn from actual experience around the world, each case starts with the problems a reform leader faced and traces the steps taken to address these. You will have a chance to assess the process and decide whether the solutions might work in your own context, as well as offer new proposals. Through quizzes and open response assignments, you will be able to share ideas with others and practice what you have learned. No certificates or other credentials will be awarded in connection with this course.

INQ101x is designed with K-12 teachers in mind. Teacher candidates, higher education instructors, and other educators may also find it relevant. In six weeks, we discuss some of the major themes and challenges of integrating inquiry and technology as a community of practitioners. We collect and share resources and exchange ideas about what works for specific topics and age groups.