University College Dublin

Nowadays Cloud Computing is everywhere. Cloud Computing (CC) is not a revolution of Information technology (IT), but It is one of the key evolution steps of IT. It is computing as a utility, which has recently emerged as a commercial reality. The main characteristics of CC are 1) the illusion of infinite computing resources, 2) the ability to pay-as-you-go, and 3) the elimination of an up-front commitment by Cloud users. In other words, CC is a style of computing which can be scaled dynamically, and virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Network. The key idea behind this course is to provide fundamental CC topics taking into account both technology and business considerations. The course is divided into a series of lectures, each of which is accompanied by one or more hands-on exercises. Some of the topics covered are: Fundamental CC terminology and concepts; CC definition an its specific characteristics; Benefits, Challenges and Risks of CC platforms and Services; Roles of CC administrator and owners; SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS delivery models and their combinations; Various Public, Private, and hybrid CC environments; Business Cost models and Service Level Agreements for CC; Case Studies: Google Cloud, Microsoft Cloud, and Amazon Cloud.

This course is designed to give an in-depth knowledge of structure and function of neurons, neuronal communication and muscle. Major topics include a) The detailed structure of neurones and muscle cells, b) The biophysical membrane properties of these cells, c) Ion fluxes and permeabilities, d) Synaptic transmission, e) Excitation/contraction coupling and cell signalling. Parallel computer simulated assignments complement the lecture material in addition to an assignment on muscle function and EMG measurements.

This course examines a selection of twentieth-century Spanish films, using cinema as a lens to explore the complex and ever-evolving concept of Spanish national identity. From the veiled satire in the early years of Franco's dictatorship to the vibrant self-expression of the post-Franco era, we will explore how filmmakers have grappled with themes of identity, tradition, regionality, gender, and social change.

This course introduces students to a variety of methods to interpret, analyze, and understand popular music and its impact on society. Each week focuses on a selected genre or thread in modern popular music, from rock and roll to hip-hop to underground and dance music. By examining these genres and threads, students are encouraged to use theoretical frameworks that help reveal the cultural and musical significance of the chosen examples. These frameworks include media theory, gender and performativity, and the critical examination of race and identity. It also focuses more broadly on how popular music propagates itself over time via its relationship to technology, cultural and subcultural movements, and political currents. Although the course does introduce and employ a few musical-analytical concepts, it is an elective course and has no prerequisites.

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a distinctive branch of computer science dedicated to understanding the relationship between people and computers. It provides a set of techniques that enable software engineers to develop computing applications that better respond to the needs, abilities and interests of customers, clients and end-users. This course provides theoretical grounding, practical knowledge, and hands on experience of key skills needed to design and build better interfaces for computing systems.

This course introduces students to the field of Development Economics. The object of the course is to equip students with a greater understanding of the process of economic development and the challenges faced by nations and individuals to transit out of poverty. The course covers a range of economic problems in developing countries and discusses - both from a theoretical and an empirical perspective - possible strategies to overcome these problems. Topics include inequality, and poverty reduction; nutrition and poverty traps; markets for land, credit, and insurance; agricultural transformation; and evaluation of development programs and international trade.

This course introduces parallel programming and covers the following main topics: 1) Vector and superscalar processors: architecture and programming model, optimizing compilers (dependency analysis and code generation), array libraries (BLAS), parallel languages (Fortran 90). 2) Shared-memory multi-processors and multicore CPUs: architecture and programming models, optimizing compilers, thread libraries (Pthreads), parallel languages (OpenMP). 3) Distributed-memory multi-processors: architecture and programming model, performance models, message-passing libraries (MPI), parallel languages (HPF). 4) Hybrid parallel programming for clusters of mutlicore CPUs with MPI+OpenMP.

The contemporary era is marked both by a proliferation of screens through which we access ‘content’, as well as fundamental and ongoing shifts in the media industries, largely driven by digital innovation. Given this context, this course provides students with a scholarly understanding of a range of screen media, past and present, in order to better comprehend continuities and disruptions. Students examine how formal elements combine to create meaning in screen texts and they are introduced to a wide array of critical terms through which they will develop their own analyses. Through a number of detailed case studies encompassing film, television as well as emergent “new media” forms, the course provides a foundation of methods and skills for researching and studying screen media in varied forms and contexts.