How can poor societies become prosperous and overcome obstacles to do so? Professor Sir Paul Collier is one of the world's leading scholars on this question, and in this economics course you will have the opportunity to learn from him directly. This course will discuss and examine the following topics: The role of government and the key political, social and economic processes that affect development; Why societies need polities that are both centralised and inclusive, and the process by which these polities develop; The social factors that are necessary for development, including the importance of identities, norms, and narratives; The impact of economic processes on development, including discussion about how government policies can either promote or inhibit the exploitation of scale and specialisation; The external conditions for development, including trade flows, capital flows, labour flows and international rules for governance. Enrol in this course to understand the factors that influence economic development and the different development paths that countries across the world have taken.

A major geopolitical contest has broken out between the US and China. It will be the main driving force of global geopolitics for the next decade or two. The main goal of “US-China Relations: Past, Present and Future” is to provide a deeper understanding of the historical roots and the structural forces driving the contest. It will elucidate the major misunderstandings between the two countries, and discuss possible alternative approaches that could result in win-win outcomes for America and China. A major source of misunderstanding between the United States and China arises from the very different historical experiences their people have lived through in recent centuries: a century of humiliation is meeting a century of triumphalism. In this course, you’ll learn how a country’s historical past influences deeply its understanding of international relations and national security and plays a critical role in the formulation of its foreign policies. This course will discuss in depth the US-China bilateral relationship from 1949 to 2020, covering issues ranging from climate change and foreign affairs, to economic and trade relations. Part of this programme will also consider more recent issues like the Trump Administration and China’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the US-China trade and technology wars. We will explore in depth the fundamental misunderstandings that have developed between the two powers over the years. The goal is to develop a more objective and accurate understanding of the strategic perspectives and behavioural patterns of the United States and China in the global order. Join us as we seek to understand how this US-China geopolitical contest is, paradoxically, both inevitable and avoidable.

Over the past few years, advancements in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have significantly challenged the traditionally stable landscape of urban infrastructure services. The result is an increasing interest in the transitioning of cities towards so-called “smart cities” – an interest expressed both by technology vendors and public authorities. Although such “smart technologies” can provide immense opportunities for citizens and for service providers alike, the ICTs often act as disruptive innovators of urban infrastructure service provision. In this MOOC, you will gain a thorough understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with “smart urban infrastructures” as well as how these infrastructures can be managed in order to deliver desirable performance in cities. More precisely, throughout this 5-week MOOC you will learn about the most important principles for the management of smart urban infrastructures as well as about the application of these principles to two specific sectors, namely urban transportation and urban energy systems.

Landscape approaches call for innovative interventions that cut across sectors and scales. Public and private funders are ready to invest but there are gaps to bridge. Integrated landscape investments, which enable bankable projects to be realized, need to be built on shared understandings and motivations between landscape inhabitants and leaders and the world of finance. Are you from the finance world and want to think from a landscape perspective? Or, are you working in or for a landscape and want to mobilise resources? Join this course and bridge the gap between finance and landscapes. Gain critical insights and develop the skills to capitalize on investors motivation to invest and the need for innovative financing in landscapes Financial experts will share their experiences and get you ready to join the global momentum on financing landscape initiatives. You'll learn about multi-sector, multi-stakeholder investments that manage and affect multiple landscape functions. Join the course now and jump right into breaking down complex language and concepts in a light and highly interactive manner. Learn about plural values and how they can be achieved with the right investment. Learn too how to stimulate, secure and coordinate the execution of that investment. During this course, you'll also learn to develop integrated investment strategies to support landscape leaders and investors in their related efforts. Sustainable and Inclusive Landscapes This course is also part of the Sustainable and Inclusive Landscapes Professional Certificate Programme. Following the complete programme lets you harness the power of place and advance your career as a landscape leader. The programme consists of the following courses, which can be taken in any given order: Landscape Finance: Investing in Innovation for Sustainable Landscapes (this course) Landscape Leadership: Catalyse Sustainable Development in Landscapes Landscape Governance: Collaborating Across Sectors and Scales Climate Action in Biodiverse Landscapes

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.