English

This course examines the methods used in assessing the toxicity of food contaminants, and to develop their confidence in the handling and interpretation of toxicological data. It covers the basic concepts behind toxicological evaluation, and the criteria for setting guidance values for dietary and nondietary exposure to chemicals, as well as the role of biochemical, metabolic and toxicokinetic studies in toxicological evaluation. Topics include a discussion on exposure and entry routes, fates of toxic substances in the body (toxicokinetics), concepts in experimental toxicology, the dose response relationship, actions of toxic substances, target organ effects, the actions and types of carcinogens. A survey of the health effects of common classes of toxic substances is also presented.

This course targets to help you understand important topics of management in the Chinese context or with the Chinese people. You will learn concepts, theories, research results, and successful management stories related to this domain. You will learn from the lectures, your classmates, as well as your own explorative learning activities. This course requires highly interactive class participation and your own exploration outside the classroom.

This course provides students with advanced knowledge and current approaches in systems neuroscience that focuses on understanding brain function and behavior at the level of neural circuits and their interactions.

Previous exposure to basic neurophysiology is recommended. 

This course examines the determinants of labor supply, demand and the structure of earnings and the economic effects of government policies, such as minimum wage laws, unemployment insurance, welfare and training programs and subsidies to higher education. 

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people’s behavior, thoughts, and feelings are influenced by others. This course covers the core themes from social psychology – such as attitudes and attitude change, conformity, and aggression – and how they can be scientifically investigated. During the course, students participate in a “Humans of Maastricht” project. In this project, students make contact with their self-perceived “out-group,” applying social psychological theories and concepts to their experiences and reducing their stereotypes and prejudice in the process.

This course follows the approach that citizens are ‘predictably irrational’ (Ariely 2008). This model of human behavior has consequences for how governments can and should steer society. A behavioral approach to government steering such as ‘nudging’ is explored in this course. Students explore what it means to take a behavioral approach to public administration, how it differs from traditional policy, and to what extent has a behavioral approach been taken up by governments already, and learn about opportunities and pitfalls of a behavioral approach. Questions about whether a behavioral approach is effective, appropriate, and ethical are discussed. Finally, the course explicitly studies the policy process that leads to ‘behavioral’ policies including the other actors, such as interest groups, and contextual factors, such as institutions, rules, and norms that influence this process.  Theoretical knowledge, practical examples, guest lectures, field trips, discussions, debates, and presentations are used.

This class introduces the history of jazz and increases one's understanding of and appreciation for jazz music. Jazz music has stylistically changed over the last 100 years; this course covers the history of jazz from the beginning of jazz to the present styles.

Those who are interested in jazz music and those learning how to play jazz will benefit from taking this course. 

The course introduces students to both the academic and practical aspects of traditional and digital methods of archaeological illustrations including finds drawing. The academic aspects concentrate on types of technique, style, materials and equipment used, and the layout and presentation of drawings for publication. The practical work involves the creation and preparation of drawings to a publication standard (resulting in an assessed portfolio). The artefact illustration sessions concentrate on the drawing of flintwork, pottery, and metalwork for both hand inking and digital presentation. The digital element of the course includes the use of Adobe Illustrator to create artefact, site location, and historic map illustrations as well as addressing the use of computer aided design (CAD software) in archaeological site planning and the principles and conventions of image-editing using Adobe Photoshop. Students are taught to analyze archaeological illustrations and consider their effectiveness in communicating archaeological data. 

This course develops an understanding of the basic concepts and issues related to the scientific study of human sexuality. This includes basic genital anatomy, sexual function and dysfunction, the biology and neuroscience of sexual response, social and relational aspects of human sexuality, and treatment of sexual dysfunction. Emphasis is placed on what we do and do not understand, and what future research is needed to fill the gap. The course discusses topics including: sexual anatomy, models of sexual response (e.g., Master & Johnson model, Basson’s model, the Dual Control Model, etc.), sexual function and dysfunction (with a reference to the DSM-IV and DSM-5), development of sexuality and sexual identity (with a focus on sexual orientation and gender identity), and research tools to investigate human sexual response (fMRI, EEG, photopletismography, physiological tools, etc.). The course recommends students have a basic understanding of psychological concepts and research as a prerequisite.