University of New South Wales

This course examines the causes and correlates of global poverty, and investigates the policies used to address it. The approach of the course is microeconomic, meaning that it focuses on individual and household behaviors, as well as market failures which lead to sub-optimal choices by these individuals. It covers measurement of poverty and inequality, the role of health and education in poverty, problems in credit, savings, and insurance markets, the causes and effects of migration, environmental degradation, and child labor. 

This course examines how cosmetics and personal care products work from a scientific standpoint. Chemistry plays a key role in the manufacturing and continual improvement of personal care and other household products. It is involved in all stages, from the chemical extraction of natural products to the packaging of final consumer products. Throughout the course, students will learn the interaction of skin-care chemicals with lipids in the skin, the suspension of oil in emulsions, and how sunscreens filter or scatter UV light. Furthermore, the students will learn how to interpret ingredient lists and understand their roles. Marketing hype and trends, such as anti-aging, will be dissected to examine the underlying scientific principles and negative campaigns analyzed to evaluate their veracity.

This course examines introductory level scientific and engineering design concepts including sustainable development, and product and processing line management with an emphasis on sustainable manufacturing as the core theme throughout the course. A technical lecture series will demonstrate the integration of all aspects of food science and technology, and their underpinning by the basic sciences, through examination of a hypothetical company producing a selected food product.  

This course examines the science and scientific methods within the life, environmental and Earth sciences. In particular, the course will introduce students to the research undertaken in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences (BEES) and its application to contemporary environmental problems, management and issues. The course also focuses on skills including relevant quantitative techniques, methods for collecting environmental data including new technologies, sampling and experimental design, methods for visualizing environmental information (graphics, mapping) and communicating results.

Spanish is the language of over four hundred million people. It is spoken officially in 23 countries, and it is the second language of the United States, where there are some 45 million Spanish speakers. Spanish is also one of the four major languages of the European Union alongside English, French, and German. If you are interested in learning one of the most commonly spoken first languages in the world and have no prior knowledge of the Spanish language, then this is the right course for you. Based on a communicative and culture-based approach, this course is designed to help you quickly develop your proficiency in basic oral and written Spanish. Vocabulary and basic Spanish grammar are presented in contexts that are relevant for everyday language use. Students will also learn basic language learning strategies to make the learning process more effective.

This course examines how to decide where to invest, and how much risk to take on. It covers optimal portfolio construction (Markowitz portfolio theory and Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), how to measure and price risk and exploit mispriced securities, investment strategies, performance evaluation, and bonds and their investment characteristics (such as duration, yield, and term structure). 

This course introduces the basic tools of game theory and its applications to business choices. The course covers normal form and extensive form games, games of perfect and imperfect/incomplete information, and introduces equilibrium concepts such as Nash equilibrium, subgame-perfect equilibrium and perfect Bayesian equilibrium. It also looks at repeated games and the theory of reputation.

This course examines geology, paleontology and Earth’s systems. It covers plate tectonics, the formation of rocks and minerals, the evolution of the atmosphere, and the origin of the hydrosphere. Students will gain knowledge about the evolution of life and what the fossil record tells us about past climates and ecosystems. The course will provide a basis in advanced measurement techniques using ground-, aircraft-, and satellite-based systems. Students will also learn how to use their understanding of geological processes to investigate and manage environmental issues. A comprehensive understanding of Earth’s processes is critical for the development of sustainable societies, protecting our ecosystems, sourcing materials for modern technologies, and economic growth.

This course examines the history of philosophy across several traditions, as well as contemporary research, to explore questions such as, what is the relationship between happiness and pleasure? Is happiness an emotion, a mental state, a social construct, or an objective condition? How is well-being/happiness pursued across different cultures, including Australian Indigenous cultures? And what does happiness have to do, if anything, with the philosophical idea of a well-lived life? This course doesn’t promise to make you happy, but it will certainly help you to clarify your thinking about happiness and the meaning(s) of life.