University of Edinburgh

This course offers an exploration of the histories, theories and practices of democracy. It provides students with a systematic overview of the complex discourses on democracy today. What is democracy? Where does the idea of democracy come from? Has the idea one or many origins? Can democracy be justified, and if so, on what grounds? What are the limits of democracy? These, and many more, questions lie at the heart of democratic theory and of this course.

The course introduces a range of topics in philosophy of science and show their relevance to debates on science-policy. For example, how are scientific models used to make projections? Which policy decisions do they license? What is the inter-relation between scientific evidence, causation and decision-making? In the weekly "Science Policy Lab" tutorials and associated seminar and lecture, topics covered include: the role of science advisors, science and values, climate science, epidemiological modelling and predictions, ethnobotany, traditional knowledge, cultural rights, among others. Students read landmark science policy reports from agencies such as the United Nations, UNESCO, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), among many others. They also practice science policy writing and discuss underlying philosophical themes.

Design is often regarded as the central creative activity of engineering. This course enhances the skills of analysis and synthesis required to develop solutions to open-ended problems. This course teaches techniques for the effective evaluation and communication of design ideas. To support this the students also acquire a knowledge of materials and manufacturing processes selection along with the most common component/system failure modes.

This course provides an introduction to programming creative audio applications. The focus is on developing competencies in professional level tools and practices. Students learn to code in C++ within the JUCE environment, a helpful framework for producing standalone audio applications for different devices and operating systems, and for producing VST plugins, audio units, and related technologies.

The study of the structure and function of eukaryotic cells at the molecular level has been one of the major growth areas in biology over the past decade. Our understanding of many complex processes such as cell division, differentiation, movement and cell-cell interactions has been greatly extended by use of a combination of biochemical, molecular genetic and immunological methods. This course takes as its starting point the material covered in several of the first-half 3rd year courses and 1st and 2nd year courses, and applies that knowledge to a detailed study of five major topics in molecular cell biology: the cytoskeleton, signal transduction, cell cycle, membrane trafficking and nuclear domains. As the pace of research in these areas is very rapid, the course concentrates on techniques and experimental designs used to dissect and analyze these complex processes, and it looks at current ideas about how they occur. An important element in the course is the opportunity for students to develop the skills of an active learner through taking part in the courses exercises.