Businesses face many difficult choices when deciding how best to compete with their rivals. What prices should they charge for their product? And what product should they sell? Firms need to make decisions about RandD, investments and where they should locate. In this OLE we introduce a set of analytical (game theoretic) tools that can be used to study business and negotiation strategy. Students will apply these tools to real-world business decisions, such as: bargaining; pricing and quantity strategies; product choice; capacity competition; and strategic investment and innovation. This analysis helps us understand the day-to-day problems faced by firms, their decision-making process and the wider implications in the market of their choices.

Economics is the science of choice that provides a lens through which interactions between individuals, businesses, governments and organisations can be understood. Students are introduced to the economic way of thinking and by drawing on examples from the 'real world', this unit provides economic insights into everyday behaviours and decisions.

Ethnographic methods generate knowledge through immersion in the everyday lives of the people the investigator seeks to understand. This unit of study will introduce students to key concepts, provide some practical tips and guide students through a mini-fieldwork project. Students will conduct fieldwork, create fieldnotes, contextualise their findings and write up.

The use of biologically active products derived from nature for medicinal, spiritual and recreational purposes is no new phenomenon. Ethnopharmacology is a unique and diverse area of study that converges historical, social and scientific perspectives in an attempt to understand the why, how, where and what of human drug use. Being inherently interdisciplinary in nature, this unit aims to introduce you to relevant concepts in the fields of pharmacology, botany and ethics in order to provide a broad overview of a number of natural products derived from plants, animals and fungi, and their use by global communities. By doing this unit, you will learn why these products are used, be it for medicinal or ritualistic purposes, and how they are prepared and administered by different cultural groups. You will also be introduced to the pharmacological principles underlying how these natural products affect the body. In turn, you will apply your knowledge and understanding and explore a specific natural product in greater depth, while engaging in interdisciplinary teamwork with students from differing backgrounds. Furthermore, you will examine and reflect on ethical dilemmas encountered in the field, with a particular focus on modern medicine development.

The in-country study unit introduces students to Chinese language and culture through an intensive program at a partner university in China. It places particular emphasis on understanding cultural differences in authentic contexts. Students will have practical language lessons and receive an introduction to contemporary culture and society. They will participate in cultural activities such as visits to museums, theatres and memorial sites and have the opportunity to interact with local people. The units will develop skills in crosscultural communication through direct contact.

The in-country study unit introduces students to German language and culture through an intensive program at a partner university in Germany. It places particular emphasis on understanding cultural differences in authentic contexts. Students will have practical language lessons (40hrs) and receive an introduction to contemporary culture and society (up to 15hrs). They will participate in cultural activities such as visits to museums, theatres and memorial sites and have the opportunity to interact with local people. The units will develop skills in cross-cultural communication through direct contact.

The in-country study unit introduces students to Italian language and culture through an intensive program at a partner university in Italy. It places particular emphasis on understanding cultural differences in authentic contexts. Students will have practical language lessons and receive an introduction to contemporary culture and society. They will participate in cultural activities such as visits to museums, theatres and memorial sites and have the opportunity to interact with local people. The units will develop skills in crosscultural communication through direct contact.

The in-country study unit introduces students to Japanese language and culture through an intensive program at a partner university in Japan. It places particular emphasis on understanding cultural differences in authentic contexts. Students will have practical language lessons and receive an introduction to contemporary culture and society. They will participate in cultural activities such as visits to museums, theatres and memorial sites and have the opportunity to interact with local people. The units will develop skills in cross-cultural communication through direct contact.

The in-country study unit introduces students to Korean language and culture through an intensive program at a partner university in Korea. It places particular emphasis on understanding cultural differences in authentic contexts. Students will have practical language lessons and receive an introduction to contemporary culture and society. They will participate in cultural activities such as visits to museums, theatres and memorial sites and have the opportunity to interact with local people. The units will develop skills in crosscultural communication through direct contact.

The in-country study unit introduces students to Arabic language and culture through an intensive program at a partner university in an Arab country. It places particular emphasis on understanding cultural differences in authentic contexts. Students will have practical language lessons and receive an introduction to contemporary culture and society. They will participate in cultural activities such as visits to museums, theatres and memorial sites and have the opportunity to interact with local people. The units will develop skills in cross-cultural communication through direct contact.

The in-country study unit introduces students to French language and Francophone culture through an intensive program at a partner university in France or a Francophone Country. It places particular emphasis on understanding cultural differences in authentic contexts. Students will have practical language lessons and receive an introduction to contemporary culture and society. They will participate in cultural activities such as visits to museums, theatres and memorial sites and have the opportunity to interact with local people. The units will develop skills in cross-cultural communication through direct contact.

The in-country study unit introduces students to Spanish language and Spanish or Latin American culture through an intensive program at a partner university in Spain or a Latin American country. It places particular emphasis on understanding cultural differences in authentic contexts. Students will have practical language lessons and receive an introduction to contemporary culture and society. They will participate in cultural activities such as visits to museums, theatres and memorial sites and have the opportunity to interact with local people. The units will develop skills in crosscultural communication through direct contact.

This Open Learning Environment unit of study is targeted at students undertaking a research degree, but other students may find the material of value. The development of a design is crucial for the scientific and statistical validity of research in the life sciences. These are needed for a range of situations from controlled laboratory studies where we are comparing specific drug treatments to field-based studies where we are surveying a particular bird species. No matter the context there are fundamental concepts common to all types of designs that all life scientists should know, and these form the basis for deeper knowledge. This unit will initially reinforce these fundamental concepts with a focus on both laboratory and field research with an emphasis on experimental and sampling designs. You will learn the vocabulary used in designing experiments and how this relates to their scientific and statistical validity. Using a series of published papers and ongoing research projects you will engage with the different types of designs and when and why they are used. Online modules and optional workshops will offer you the opportunity to gain experience in designing experiments and analysing the datasets they generate. By doing this unit you will develop the ability to describe and critique the key features of sampling and experimental designs, analyse the data they generate and use this knowledge to generate your own designs in your future career.

This OLE will provide a general introduction to the research field of quantum computing, covering hardware, software, and potential societal impact. The circuit model of quantum computing and example algorithms will be introduced, then building on this knowledge you will code and execute simple algorithms in a quantum software environment. Emphasis will be given to comparing quantum vs 'classical' performance of key algorithms. For hardware, the research challenges in developing quantum computer technology will be introduced, and you will undertake a critical analysis of specific hardware platforms (advantages and challenges). The potential societal impact of quantum computers, and quantum technologies more broadly, will be surveyed. On completion of this OLE, you will have gained an informed appreciation of this new technology and its potential impact, as well as generic skills that allow for the critical assessment and evaluation of potential new technologies.

We are in the midst of a fourth industrial revolution: a time of great technological and ethical change. This revolution has been triggered in part by the discovery of a mechanism to edit the genomes of almost any organism. Should we select children with blue eyes? Or make people who are immune to HIV? And what about increasing the nutritional qualities or drought tolerance of fruit or grains? Although human communities have been selecting organisms with desirable traits for thousands of years - from wild corn cobs to daschunds, we now have the capacity to make these changes with unprecedented speed and accuracy. In this unit, you will explore humanity's position of power over our genes, demystify technologies and understand the range of possibilities that exist. You will examine public understanding and perception of gene editing and engage with experts to dissect the technical and ethical considerations associated with the field. You will consider, appreciate and communicate the questions of whether, why and when we should embark on programs of genome engineering - and when we perhaps shouldn't.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has a critical role in addressing major challenges facing humanity, including our environmental futures (applications involve the measurement of biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, land degradation, natural hazards planning); our future social lives ('smart' and 'digital' cities); water, food and energy security, and the role of local environments for population health, (e.g. in debate on healthy neighbourhoods and epidemiology) and in corporate responsibility. GIS is an emergent technological platform with broad application across natural and social sciences. It involves the practices of producing and negotiating geographic knowledge through the representation, manipulation and analysis of geospatial data using digital technologies. In this foundation level OLE, students will examine GIS based methods to investigate spatial patterns in social, environmental and health data and query the processes underlying these trends. The technologies behind GIS, geospatial data structures, map projections and different methods for querying and analysing geographic data will be introduced through multidisciplinary case studies.

Rapid advances in space and aerial-borne remotely sensed technologies and the proliferation of geo- referenced data, through location-enabled devices, have dramatically transformed the way geographic information is produced and shared. This presents exciting opportunities for exploring geographical pattern in environmental and social landscapes. This growing 'geocyberspace' of information comprises diverse aspects of society and the environment. As this information is often utilised in understanding processes and addressing critical social and environmental problems there is an increased demand for modelling and advanced analysis approaches that handle geospatial data. This unit will provide the conceptual background to more advanced GIS analysis applications and spatial reasoning methods in the context of contemporary environmental and social issues. The course is designed to provide an introduction to spatial analysis techniques available within a GIS environment, explore a diversity of both social, health, business and environmental applications. In addition the unit aims to address key issues currently emerging from GIS applications including spatial data analytics, techniques for managing data uncertainty, GIS ethics and participatory GIS.

This unit examines the global movement of people, animals and things to Australia. Australia's landscapes, peoples, animals, food cultures and diseases have been shaped by migratory flows. This unit equips students working in diverse fields to understand the challenges and uncertainties of a rapidly changing, diverse and complex world.

This unit addresses ethical questions that arise in a globalised world. Should we care for all humans equally, or give priority to people from our own culture or nation? Should we tolerate people who are intolerant? What do we owe to future generations? Why protect the environment? If one person can't make a difference, do my actions matter?

This unit explores how communities past and present have intersected with the Great Barrier Reef and how the effects of climate change, and policies designed to ameliorate its effects, impact both the reef and its communities. It will also introduce students to the idea of the Anthropocene as a framework for understanding our ethical responsibilities in a globalised world.

Scientific research should be reproducible. A reproducible study is one for which the methods are described in enough detail for others to follow, the analyses of the data are straightforward to re-run, and conducting the study again (where possible) yields results that support the claim of the original report. In areas of science where reproducibility has been evaluated, such as cancer biology and experimental psychology, replication success rates have generally been lower than 50%, and in clinical medicine, published outcomes show substantial biases. Bad and irreproducible research is rife. In this unit, examples are drawn from biology, health science, social science, education, and engineering. You will learn the principles of reproducible science. Building on your basic knowledge of statistics, you will understand the practices and statistical issues that lead to irreproducible science, such as poor statistical power and questionable research practices. You will also become familiar with practices that foster robust results, practices that are increasingly embraced or even required by journals and research funders. You will apply this knowledge to your own research or some other work that you choose.

This Open Learning Environment unit of study is designed to introduce students to one of the major chronic health challenges of the 21st century, namely the increasing burden of allergies and autoimmune diseases. The unit will cover, at a basic level, what allergies and autoimmune diseases are, how they are treated, how they impact on the lives of individuals and the community, why they are becoming more common as living standards rise and what we might do to prevent them in future. Basic knowledge in high school biology is recommended for interested students. This unit of study has been developed by academics in the University's Charles Perkins Centre, an interdisciplinary education and research hub where researchers produce novel solutions to chronic disease.

This course will discuss in depth, the risk factors, and consequences of cardiovascular diseases. Material covered will include risk factors, angina/heart attack/stroke/high blood pressure, development of blood clots, requirement of stenting (and complications associated with biomaterials), development of antithrombotic and anticoagulant medications for long-term treatment of these patients. It is aimed at all students and does not assume a background in biology.

This Open Learning Environment unit of study is designed to introduce you to the chronic disease Diabetes, that, for a patient, is difficult to manage and for society is associated with huge costs. Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions about diabetes. To conquer the disease, in all its forms, we need informed debate and long-term strategies. This unit explains the biological basis of diabetes and defines the fundamentally distinct forms of the disease. It looks at the history of our understanding of the disease and critically assesses current treatments and potential new approaches to prevention and cure.

This unit of study has been developed by academics in the University's Charles Perkins Centre, an interdisciplinary education and research hub where researchers produce novel solutions to chronic disease. Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death, disability and reduced quality of life across the world. Generating innovative solutions to combat these global health challenges requires us to rethink our traditional approaches to their causes, where medical or biological factors are considered in isolation from their societal, and environmental contexts. In this OLE, students will learn how an approach to these challenges using evolutionary thinking can generate new ways of identifying potential solutions. Global leaders in the field will provide an insight into the topics: introduction to evolutionary thinking; life history and health; materno-fetal conflict and its longer-term health consequences; human variation and its health consequences; and an overview of the many other topics in the physiology and medicine of chronic disease that can be addressed from an evolutionary perspective. By the end of this OLE students will be able to utilise evolutionary thinking for a truly multidisciplinary approach to hypothesis development to address health challenges.

This Open Learning Environment will develop your understanding about pain and its impact on society. It is designed for a broad audience, but it will be particularly interesting for those studying health, law, psychology, business, ethics, economics, science or social science, as well as anyone who has personally experienced, or knows someone living with, persisting pain. Specifically, this OLE explores the 1) complex and individual-specific nature of pain, 2) impact of pain on society, 3) roles of culture, gender, and life-stages in the pain experience, and 4) ethical and legal considerations for its management. Why is chronic pain important? It is a major, but strangely, unrecognised health problem. Persisting or chronic pain affects around 1 in 5 people in Australia. A global research initiative on chronic diseases has identified Chronic Low Back Pain as the most disabling condition (on the planet) in years lived with disability (Lancet, 2012). It may not end your life but it can end your enjoyment of life. In terms of costs, there are major direct (e. g. health care, work) and indirect costs (e. g. quality of life) to individuals, families, and society generally. The predicament of those with chronic pain can be complicated by social factors, including medico-legal and insurance uncertainties, as well as by common treatments (e. g. opioids). Unfortunately, ignorance of chronic pain and its appropriate treatment is widespread across the community broadly, and the growing opioid epidemic is a clear example of the problem. This ignorance represents a major barrier to helping chronic pain sufferers.

This unit of study has been developed by academics in the University's Charles Perkins Centre, an interdisciplinary education and research hub where researchers produce novel solutions to chronic disease. Physical activity is an inseparable part of human biology and evolution. Lack of it ("physical inactivity") causes chronic disease. Sadly we are still a population that doesn't embrace physical activity and its potential to have a transformative impact on chronic disease prevention and improve the quality of life into old age. This unit of study will provide students with an opportunity to develop an up-to-date understanding of the role of physical activity and exercise for the health of the population as well as the most promising principles for encouraging more people to become physically active. The unit is largely multi-disciplinary and goes beyond disease prevention to explore themes like maintenance of functional ability and retaining independence and how the environment determines our physical activity behaviour. Particular attention is given to physical activity as a behaviour that is not merely a lifestyle "choice"; but rather the outcome of a complex web of societal, cultural, economic, political and individual circumstances that lead to the formation of personal habits across the lifespan. Students will be encouraged to discuss, debate, and critically evaluate the evidence.

Our sleep and circadian rhythms are integral to our health and wellbeing, but they are often at odds with our technology-filled, caffeine-fuelled, and 24-hour world. This unit introduces how sleep and circadian rhythms work and their impact on health and society. Examples include sleep deprivation, jetlag, shiftwork, and common sleep disorders. Students will gain insights into their own sleep and circadian rhythms to help optimise their wellbeing and performance. The unit will also showcase how different disciplines contribute to a fuller understanding of the world and help to provide new solutions to complex problems. Students will be asked to reflect on their own discipline and how it can contribute to solving problems like those encountered in sleep and circadian science. The content will be founded in science, medicine, and health but will include perspectives and examples from physics, engineering, sociology, and history. This entry-level unit of study has been developed by academics in the University's Charles Perkins Centre, an interdisciplinary education and research hub whose mission is to develop real-world solutions for chronic disease.

This Open Learning Environment unit of study is designed to provide its students with a basic understanding of factors that affect weight regulation in humans. Weight regulation is an area of growing interest of significance and urgency, as over and undernutrition remain serious public health concerns. The unit will cover basic physiology involved in body weight regulation and will explore basic key factors that can override these physiological mechanisms, including eating behaviour psychology, genetic influences and impact of the environment. These factors will be discussed with reference weight dysregulation (obesity and eating disorders). This unit of study has been developed by academics in the University¿s Charles Perkins Centre, an interdisciplinary education and research hub where researchers produce novel solutions to chronic disease.

An individual's health literacy has a major impact on their health and wellbeing across their life. Health literacy comprises the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of an individual to gain access to, understand, and use information to promote and maintain good health. People of lower health literacy commonly engage less frequently with the healthcare system, presenting later with illnesses, have lower adherence to medical advice and treatments, and higher mortality rates. In this unit you will learn about health literacy, how it can adversely impact populations, its measurement and applications in healthcare, and an understanding of approaches to increase health literacy. You will develop skills to use within the healthcare system and with external partners to increase levels of health literacy.

During the twentieth century, significant and influential debates about the ethical requirements for conducting scientific research have been conducted, specifically in medicine, biology, and physics. After the horrors of Nazi medical experimentation and the lethal potential of nuclear weapons became known, scientists started to discuss the social responsibilities they had and the principles that should govern research. In this OLE, we trace the history of these debates and the way they shaped current ideas about research ethics. Special attention will be paid to the protections that should be given to vulnerable populations, and to individuals and populations in developing nations. In this unit you will reflect on the ethical responsibilities of scientists and other researchers and how the current principles of of research ethics are influenced by this history and, in turn, what it means to be an ethical researcher.

Since the 1980s Australia has been reshaped by policies that have transformed what we do and our place in the global economy. This unit examines how Australia has been 'remade' Australian through economic policies. The rationale and success of labour market reform, privatization and international trade policies are critically examined.

How many hairs are there on a human head? What is the probability of intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe? What is the GDP of a small nation? Remarkably, it is possible to answer these questions more-or-less accurately, with minimal information. The ability to do this - to estimate - is a valuable life skill. In this unit you will learn systematic approaches to estimation, which allow order-of-magnitude answers to be provided for any quantitative question. You will also learn to evaluate the uncertainties in your estimates. Examples will be drawn from across the sciences and the humanities. The unit connects theoretical knowledge with practical application, and seeks to develop the ability to critically evaluate quantitative information from a broad variety of sources.

We like to believe that decision making involves simply weighing up the pros and cons of the different options before selecting the best one, so when people fail to do this (as they often do) they are viewed as irrational. However this viewpoint has been shown to be inaccurate even for important decisions. This unit will provide an introduction to how short-cuts, biases and emotion are integral to human decision making. These factors are often systematic, so we are expectedly irrational. You will first learn to recognise the common heuristics (short-cuts) and biases that have been identified by evaluating existing research and through demonstrations. From this foundation you will explore decision making more deeply and develop an understanding of the broader frameworks for comprehending it. You will then focus on the implication this has for improving your own decision making and how we can better present information and options to improve other people's decision making. From a public policy point of view these insights can be used to help nudge people towards beneficial choices, though advertisers also capitalise on these biases to influence human behaviour.

This unit will explore the dynamic interrelationships between Indigenous histories, peoples, cultures and place. Through an interdisciplinary approach and multi-modal delivery it will examine the lived experience of place and country, struggle, resistance, and identity.

Students have the opportunity to learn writing simple (scripts) programs using Javascript. It is one of the scripting languages used in web pages to enable a more interactive experience for a web user. Students will start with learning basic programming skills. The unit moves on to focus on the specific issues to write scripts that link to different elements in the source code of a web page.

Linear models form the bedrock of many real-world data analyses. They are versatile, interpretable and easily implemented. This unit provides an overview of two of the most common methods of statistical analysis of data: analysis of variance and regression. You will generate data visualisation and diagnostics plots to interpret and discover the limitations of linear models and identify when more complex approaches may be needed. You will learn to code your analyses and perform reproducible research using the open source statistical package R. A key component of this unit involves generating visualisations, estimating and selecting appropriate linear models using your data. By doing this unit you will learn how to generate, interpret, visualise, discover and critique linear models applied to your original research.

Data is the gold of the 21st century. Across all disciplines it is crucial to be able to effectively share and analyse large data collections. Managing data in spreadsheets however only works for small data sets and easily ends in 'Excel Hell'.
This OLE introduces databases for scientists and other non-IT disciplines, and will teach the SQL database query language with a focus on developing practical skills for data analysis. Database systems (for example SQL Server or MySQL) are widely used in industry and academia, and are essential for effective sharing of large data collections. The SQL language is a powerful tool for analysing big data without the need to programming.
The OLE will be delivered using an interactive online tutorial platform with auto-grading support, and (for 2CP students) online guidance from a human tutor. It is complementary to other OLEs about data-focused computation and programming for data analysis.

This Project Management OLE is designed to provide foundational knowledge, practical guidance and basic planning templates to support and monitor the work flow of project based and interdisciplinary units of study. The OLE provides guidance for students to assist them in effectively scoping out their project, managing engagement with internal and external stakeholders in a planned and professional manner and developing team participation and leadership skills that encourage effective contribution from all team members.
The OLE is designed to be completed by students engaged in project based and interdisciplinary assignments in other Units of Study.

What exactly is in your paraben-free, organic plant-extract, cleanse and replenish shampoo and conditioner, and what does it do for you? What is a paraben and are they a problem? Why is it better to make shampoo from an 'organic plant-extract' than a non-organic one, or something else entirely? This unit will lift the lid on shampoos, conditioners, cosmetics, and related household products, and uncover the roles played by the different ingredients. You will learn to identify broad structural features of important molecules and gain an appreciation of how their structure relates to their function. You will gain a historical perspective on the discovery and invention of new molecules and relate this to their use in familiar, everyday products. You will explore some molecules that can be problematic, consider their drawbacks, and the development of better alternatives. You will develop skills in communicating your knowledge of these molecules, their context and properties to others and produce resources suitable for the general public. By doing this unit, you will become a more informed consumer, better able to interpret the branding and creative marketing used to promote chemical products that you use every day and you will be able to communicate what you've learnt to your friends, family and community.

When undertaking research and critically judging the research of others with many variables, a key approach is use of multivariate data analysis. This online unit provides comprehensive skills essential for postgraduate students doing multivariate data analysis and for critically judging the research of others. We focus on the underlying principles you need to explore multivariate data sets and test hypotheses. In so doing, the unit provides you with an understanding of how multivariate research is designed, analysed and interpreted using statistics. The unit will cover the commonly used multivariate data analyses of principal components analysis, cluster analysis, discriminant functions analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling, as well as parametric and permutational hypothesis testing techniques. Examples of data will be cross-disciplinary, enabling students from many disciplines to appreciate the techniques. Analyses will use the R statistical environment, furthering student skills in this programming environment. By doing this unit, you will be able to use multivariate data analyses using a wide-range of data and present in a format for publication.

This unit of study raises big questions about Australian Indigenous musical culture, including its performativity on the national and global stage. The unit explores: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music and dance spectacles at major sporting events (war cries, welcome to country, contemporary 'corroboree'); the ways music signifies identity at various levels; and multiple versions of an iconic songs.

This Online Learning Environment unit (OLE) provides a grounding in music notation and music theory. It is aimed at students with no background in music, but also caters for students with some background in music who are looking to refresh their skills. Course material starts with the absolute basics and progresses quickly. An understanding of how music theory works is extremely useful to a range of diverse disciplines that engage with music: game and user interface designers, film and drama studies students, and those who have learnt musical practice from an aural rather than notated tradition, such as contemporary popular musicians and singers.