Singapore

This course examines the application of experimental psychology research to the improvement of human-machine and environment interactions. It focuses on the theoretical principles underlying information processing and human performance. Topics covered include signal detection and information theory; attention; spatial displays; navigation; memory and training; selection of action, manual control; time-sharing and workload; and the effects of stress on human error.

This course provides an overall view on growth and development of higher vascular plants through their life cycles. Discussion includes selected topics in gamete development, fertilization, embryo development, seed germination, development of various plant organs and flowering, the role of plant growth regulators, and the cellular, physiological and molecular basis of plant morphogenesis. The molecular genetic mechanisms of various stages of plant development are discussed.

Democracy has always been a controversial topic in Western political thought, and the debate about it is now a global one. In the ancient Greek world, Plato and Aristotle disagreed strongly over whether it was a stepping-stone on the road to tyranny, or the least worst form of government in practice. Medieval Christian thinkers tended to reject it in horror as against the divinely-created order of things. Its spread in the modern world has often been revolutionary. Modern Western politics has been defined by three great democratic revolutions, first in America, next in France, and then in Russia: in the second half of the twentieth century this revolutionary democratic spirit spread to the rest of the world in uprisings against imperialism and colonialism. This course presents some of the key texts associated with these debates and explores the ideas involved, including republicanism, citizenship, the rule of law, rights, representation, liberalism, and deliberation. Unlike many of the thinkers covered, the point is not to champion democracy or to condemn it, but to try to understand it.

This course introduces the fundamental principles, theory, algorithms, and data structures behind digital representation, compression, synchronization, and processing of image, audio, and video data types, and challenges and issues in developing media-rich applications, such as media streaming and media retrieval. The course presents the workings of common media file format and common manipulation techniques on media data.

This course introduces the world of culture through specific examples. It examines the ways in which the cultural sphere produces value and significance for humans in society; introduces different approaches to understanding culture, and explores the influence of the cultural sphere on both political and personal relations; examines questions about visual art, communication, broadcasting, media technology and cyberspace; and examines the ways in which culture is produced, disseminated and consumed, i.e., in specific communities and contexts, and through types of popular culture including exhibitions, film and television, performance, music, and digital culture.

This course explores the Southeast Asia region in all its diversity historical, cultural, economic, aesthetic, political, religious, gendered, environmental, and more. The course focuses on human experiences in Southeast Asia and how Southeast Asians engage with global processes. Lectures cover topics that move between the region’s murky past to the cyber spaces of a seemingly borderless future. It provides both an insightful introduction to the region and a foundation for future studies.

This course provides a hands-on project-based introduction to electronic audio circuits for artistic purposes. Through hardware hacking, circuit bending, and circuit building, students gain an understanding of basic electronics theory as well as develop valuable hands-on experience with battery-powered sound-making and sound-processing projects. From repurposing games, toys, and radios to building oscillators, filters, mixers, and amplifiers, and finally interfacing between the physical world and computers via microcontrollers, students explore the artistic potential of electronic circuits. An introduction to the history and current practice of electronic sound art will be integral to the module. The module will culminate in a group installation/performance. No prior experience in electronics or music is assumed, though either would be helpful.

This course develops skills for creating interactive artistic computer systems. In an interactive system, sensors are used by the artist to incorporate touch, gesture, motion, sound, and light to influence the work, common in live interactive music and installation art. It introduces simple sensors and systems for beginners, but allow for more advanced students to work with other tools - Arduino, Max, Processing, etc. It is, therefore, appropriate for students of different experiences and backgrounds with programming. Students will create an artistic work that involves live interactivity. Students may work with image/video, audio, or both.

This is an undergraduate research course. The students works on a research project under the advisement of a NUS professor. This program allows you to engage actively in research, discussions, intellectual communications and other creative activities. By complementing the conventional classroom learning, UROPS places students at the frontiers of scientific research. Through the typical phases of doing research, you are able to enhance your knowledge in the latest development of science and technology; acquire special communication and presentation skills; experience creative thinking; interact and forge closer ties with the established scientists and members of their groups. We believe that the experience you can gain upon completion of the project will assist you in the preparation for future careers and postgraduate training.

Gender inequality is pervasive across the world in many walks of social life. This course focuses on one arena where this inequality is perhaps most pronounced: the field of politics. Even though women, throughout history, have largely been excluded from political processes traditionally understood to refer to the processes and institutions of “making war, wealth, laws, and governments,” they have also made significant political gains in the course of the last century, and across the globe. Scholars have noted the gender “representation” gap (women's disproportionate share of seats in national legislatures) since the mid-20th century, but in the last few decades, there has been a growing scholarly interest in understanding the divergent levels of women's political participation and representation across countries. Against this background, this course explores sources and arenas of women's political inequality, i.e., the gender gap across different forms of political action – both formal and informal. Moreover, we will try to understand women's growing involvement in politics (and the broader implications of their political mobilizing and participation in national institutions and transnational movements) from a cross-national perspective.