The convergence of different crises pressuring the world today is probably one of the most complex human-made phenomena we can observe. From biodiversity loss to the threat to democracy, all of these crises are deeply intertwined. Therefore, tools from the complexity and systems-thinking toolsets become very relevant for anyone seeking to have a slight grasp of what is going on and what is probably going to happen. This project is about using two of these tools to have a minimal understanding of how all of these crises are interconnected and to simulate possible future scenarios. The aforementioned tools are Loopy and Mental Modeler, which combine provide a insightful framework for the study of the current Human Predicament and other highly complex situations. Moreover, in this project you will have the opportunity to participate in an experiment that tries to touch on the collective intelligence permeating us all in order to have a better understanding of our current situation - and maybe find more suitable paths. Are you ready? Note: This project works best for learners who are based in the North America region. We’re currently working on providing the same experience in other regions.

Have you ever wondered what is behind different cultural traits and attitudes towards the status quo? Or more broadly, what influences the Zeitgeist of a society? Generally speaking, when it comes to changing (or not) the current spirit and state of affairs of a given society or community, some people show themselves as idealists, and they can even inspire others. At the same time, some other people are traditionalists, and some are just neutral about how things are. In this guided-project you will develop an agent-based model using NetLogo that tries to use these personas to touch and generate insights around theses questions. And while doing so, you will gain some hands-on knowledge on model building and debugging. Note: This project works best for learners who are based in the North America region. We’re currently working on providing the same experience in other regions.

This course aims to provide an in-depth reflection on social work in different contexts, hereby focusing on their needs, the way the contexts have been influenced, and different challenges that have occurred during the last two years. It aims to set up conversations with multiple professionals where they give information about the hurdles on their path, the lessons learned from these turbulent times, and to give an overview of important ideas and practices that could help reshape the future of social work. In the end, the goal is to provide specific, hands-on, best practices collected from literature and professionals in Belgium and Europe that help organise social work, both during and after a pandemic. This course was developed as part of the research project 'Pan-European Response to the Impacts of the COVID-19 and future Pandemics and Epidemics' (PERISCOPE, https://www.periscopeproject.eu/). Funded by the European Commission Research Funding programme Horizon 2020 under the Grant Agreement number 101016233, PERISCOPE investigates the broad socio-economic and behavioural impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, to make Europe more resilient and prepared for future large-scale risks.

This course, Learning Technologies Foundations and Applications, is one of the two four-week MOOC courses that form part of Instructional Design MasterTrack Certificate. After completing the course, you will be able to: 1. Identify suitable learning technology applications for problem-solving tasks. 2. Evaluate learning technology solutions based on Cognitive Load Theory and related multimedia learning design models. 3. Justify the selection of learning technologies for solving organizational problems based on evidence and best practices.

After having followed Privacy in the Western world you have become acquainted with the overall global legal system and the origins of privacy as a concept as well as privacy as a (human) right. This course deals with the American legal system to protect privacy. In the USA privacy is protected through different legal concepts. Constitutional protection through the 4th Amendment plays a crucial role in protecting the US citizen against unjust governmental intrusion. As part of a myriad of consumer protection laws (e.g. health, financial) personal data is also protected. And last but not least there are a number of specific laws dealing with the (privacy) protection of all sorts of communications, such as mobile telephony, e-mail, online searches, etc. The course deals with the main legal concepts in such a way that the learner will, after having successfully completed the course, be able to follow the legal developments in the USA. We hope you enjoy the course!

By the end of this project, you will learn about the concept of lexical style in textual analysis in R. You will know how to load and pre-process a data set of text documents by converting the data set into a corpus and document feature matrix. You will know how to calculate the type to token ration which evaluates the level of complexity of a text, and know how to isolate terms of particular lexical interest in a text and visualize the variation in frequency of such terms in texts over time.

Economic policy affects every citizen. And economic policymaking is best done as a collaborative process with a wide range of stakeholders. This course brings an understanding of the relevance and impacts of economic policymaking in everyday life, and the ways for citizens to be involved in shaping economic policy, in an accessible and interesting manner. Taught by Dr. Vijay Kelkar and Dr. Ajay Shah, along with Aromar Revi, Director, IIHS, the course synthesises more than one hundred years of their combined experience as professional economists and public intellectuals. This course can be covered across 5 weeks with 3-5 hours of learning per week. To get the best out of the course, learners are encouraged to view all the video lectures and conversations, go through other learning material, work on all the assignments and assessments, and participate in discussions in a constructive and respectful manner. By the end of this course, you will be able to: ~ Identify the role of the government in defining and implementing policy ~ Recognise the various objective aspects of policymaking, and appreciate the various softer / people aspects involved ~ Analyse the steps involved in the process of policymaking, and discuss various nuances and challenges in defining and implementing it Each citizen plays an important role in shaping our Republic. This course enables citizens, public servants and learners to understand the implications of various aspects of governing a Republic. If you are a student of economics, public policy, law, political science, and/or management, this course will explain the process of economic policy-making and inform you about the complex systems involved in its creation and implementation. If you are a public servant in Indian Civil Services involved in public finance and economics, this course will help you gain deeper insights into topics and practices surrounding the design of economic public policy. UPSC aspirants will likewise benefit from the insights and by participating in the discussions the course offers. Employees and leaders in the private sector who will benefit from having a more nuanced understanding of economic policy and development will also find this course very educational and informative. We look forward to having you on the course!

The world is urbanizing fast. In less than a century more than 1 billion people have been urbanized. That translates into the fact that more than half of the world’s population is already living in cities. Experts forecast that very soon Africa will become one of the most urbanized continents. However, almost 70% of world’s urban population is living in the cities where governments are struggling to provide basic services like sanitation, schools, hospitals, and adequate clean water. The reason is that, their governments do not have enough money. This may also be true also for the city where you live or work. Poor infrastructure affects your daily life. Local governments struggle with mobilizing finances so that they can improve your quality of life but many times they are not aware of the right mechanisms. Imagine that your government wants to know how can they finance cities and they want you to advise – where will you begin with? Our finance experts are bringing their experience right at your Desk through this MOOC. This MOOC has five modules and in five weeks you will learn: • Financial decision making environment in urban systems • Mechanisms for mobilizing local revenues • Innovative mechanisms for financing infrastructure projects through partnerships, and • Financial decision making under uncertainties and risks We will provide you a carefully selected set of literature, quizzes and interactive discussion forums. So join our MOOC and find out the ways to make your city a better place to live in for yourself and for your next generations. (This MOOC was developed in collaboration with the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG-Africa), African Local Governments Academy (ALGA), and Erasmus University Rotterdam)

This course teached the basics of urban planning in Africa through technical, environmental, social and economical dimensions. It focuses on African cities only. Although, they exemplify well cities in the Global South, and potentially all cities, we will make the African context highly topical. The course is provided by the Urban and Regional community at the Swiss Federal Insitute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). More information can be found here https://ceat.epfl.ch/

It is during the shortlisting and interviewing processes, which are typically undertaken by a single panel, that candidates most often report being unfairly assessed during recruitment efforts. In this situation, it is often revealed that personal characteristics, such as age, gender, or race, rather than relevant characteristics, such as skills and experience, fed into a particular decision about who to hire. In this module, you will learn how unconscious bias can affect the shortlisting and interview processes. You will become familiar with various practical strategies and techniques to forward a fair and merit-based assessment of all candidates. This course represents 'Part 2' of the two-part Diversity and Inclusion Recruitment Strategy series offered by the University of Western Australia. It is also one of four that comprise the Recruiting for Diversity and Inclusion Specialization. Complete all four courses to gain an in-depth understanding of this fascinating and important topic.