Community Leadership | ESS 135 | Autumn, Winter & Spring
Instructor & Department: Jones, James Holland | Earth Systems Science
Topics include: emotional intelligence, leadership styles, listening, facilitating meetings, group dynamics and motivation, finding purpose, fostering resilience. Students will lead discussions on personal development, relationships, risky behaviors, race, ethnicity, spirituality, integrity.
Data for Sustainable Development | CS 325B | Autumn, Winter & Spring
Instructor & Department: Burke, Marshall | Computer Science, Earth Systems
Co-instructors: Ermon, Stefano; Lobell, David; Perez, Anthony; Tzong-Ran Yeh, Christopher
The sustainable development goals (SDGs) encompass many important aspects of human and ecosystem well-being that are traditionally difficult to measure. This project-based course will focus on ways to use inexpensive, unconventional data streams to measure outcomes relevant to SDGs, including poverty, hunger, health, governance, and economic activity. Students will apply machine learning techniques to various projects outlined at the beginning of the quarter. The main learning goals are to gain experience conducting and communicating original research. Prior knowledge of machine learning techniques, such as from CS 221, CS 229, CS 231N, STATS 202, or STATS 216 is required. Open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Enrollment limited to 24. Students must apply for the class by filling out the form at https://goo.gl/forms/9LSZF7lPkHadix5D3. A permission code will be given to admitted students to register for the class.
Demography and Life History Theory | ESS 163/363 | Winter
Instructor & Department: Jones, James Holland | Earth Systems Science
Life history theory is the branch of evolutionary biology that attempts to understand patterns of investment in growth, reproduction, and survival across the life cycle. It is the theory that explains the major transitions that mark individual organisms' life cycles from conception to death. In this class, we will focus on the central themes of life history theory and how they relate to specific problems of the human life cycle. In addition to the classic questions of life history theory (e.g., evolution of reproductive effort, size vs. quality, etc.), we will discuss some peculiar issues that relate specifically to humans. In particular, we will explore the intersection of life history theory and more classical economic approaches to decision theory and rational choice. This will include an exploration of the evolution of economic transfers and their implications for demographic transitions, ecological resilience, and the consumption of natural resources. This discussion will explore how an understanding of life history theory might help in promoting investments in future welfare or developing policies that promote sustainability.
Designing Environmental Research | ENVRES 320 | Winter
Instructor & Department: Davis, Jenna | Environment and Resources
Research design options for causal inference in environmentally related research. Major philosophies of knowledge and how they relate to research objectives and design choices. Identification of critical elements within a broad range of research designs. Evaluation of the types of research questions for which different designs are suited, emphasizing fit between objectives, design, methods, and argument. Development of individual research design proposals, including description and justification understandable to a non-specialist.
Discussions in Global Health | MED 232 | Autumn
Instructor & Department: Barry, Michele | Medicine
The goal of this interactive series is to encourage students to think broadly about the variety of activities encompassed within global health and the roles of various entities, including NGOs, governments, and healthcare providers, in responding to large-scale health crises, building health systems, and caring for patients in developing countries. Examines challenges in global health such as organizing medical responses to natural disasters, providing healthcare to societies in conflict, and integrating traditional and modern approaches to healing. Case studies are used to critique strategies employed by organizations that work to improve medical care in poor settings.
Discussions in Global Health | MED 232 | Autumn
Instructor & Department: Barry, Michele | Medicine
The goal of this interactive series is to encourage students to think broadly about the variety of activities encompassed within global health and the roles of various entities, including NGOs, governments, and healthcare providers, in responding to large-scale health crises, building health systems, and caring for patients in developing countries. Examines challenges in global health such as organizing medical responses to natural disasters, providing healthcare to societies in conflict, and integrating traditional and modern approaches to healing. Case studies are used to critique strategies employed by organizations that work to improve medical care in poor settings.
Disease Ecology: from parasites evolution to the socio-economic impacts of pathogens on nations | BIOHOPK 168H/268H | Spring
Instructor & Department: Sokolow, Susanne | Biology, Hopkins Marine Station
Course will lead participants on a journey through the dynamics of infectious diseases that will start at the smallest level from within-host parasite dynamics and will progressively scale up to parasite evolution, disease ecology, public health policies, disease driven poverty traps and the socio-economic impact of infectious diseases on nations. The course will be organized around case studies, including among the others, schistosomiasis, malaria, cholera and sleeping sickness. Participants will have the opportunity to develop a capstone project.
Dynamics and Management of Marine Populations | BIOHOPK 177H/277H | Winter
Instructor & Department: De Leo, Giulio | Biology, Hopkins Marine Station
Course examines the ecological factors and processes that control natural and harvested marine populations. Course emphasizes mathematical models as tools to assess the dynamics of populations and to derive projections of their demographic fate under different management scenarios. Course objectives will be met by a combination of theoretical lectures, assigned readings and class discussions, case study analysis and interactive computer sessions.
Ecological Statistics | BIO 202 | Autumn
Instructor & Department: Fukami, Tadashi | Biology
Co-instructors: Mandle, Lisa
Intended for graduate students (and advanced undergraduates in special circumstances with consent of instructors) in biology and related environmental sciences, this course is an introduction to statistical methods for ecological data analysis, using the programming language R. The course will have lectures, discussions, and independent research projects using the students¿ own data or simulated or publicly available data.
Ecosystem Services: Frontiers in the Science of Valuing Nature | BIO 138 | Autumn
Instructor & Department: Daily, Gretchen | Biology, Earth Systems
This advanced course explores the science of valuing nature, beginning with its historical origins, and then its recent development in natural (especially ecological), economic, psychological, and other social sciences. We will use the ecosystem services framework (characterizing benefits from ecosystems to people) to define the state of knowledge, core methods of analysis, and research frontiers, such as at the interface with biodiversity, resilience, human health, and human development. Intended for diverse students, with a focus on research and real-world cases.