Search result: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2021
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| Number | Title | Type | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 351-0778-01L | Discovering Management (Exercises) Complementary exercises for the module Discovering Managment. Prerequisite: Participation and successful completion of the module Discovering Management (351-0778-00L) is mandatory. | W | 1 credit | 1U | B. Clarysse, L. P. T. Vandeweghe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course is offered complementary to the basis course 351-0778-00L, "Discovering Management". The course offers an additional exercise. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | The general objective of Discovering Management (Exercises) is to complement the course "Discovering Management" with one larger additional exercise. Discovering Management (Exercises) thus focuses on developing the skills and competences to apply management theory to a real-life exercise from practice. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Students who are enrolled for “Discovering Management Exercises” are asked to write an essay about a particular management issue of choice, using your insights from Discovering Management. Students have the option to either write this alone or in a group of two students. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | All course materials (readings, slides, videos, and worksheets) will be made available to inscribed course participants through Moodle. Students following this course should also be enrolled for course 351-0778-00L, "Discovering Management". | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 351-0778-00L | Discovering Management Entry level course in management for BSc, MSc and PHD students at all levels not belonging to D-MTEC. This course can be complemented with Discovering Management (Excercises) 351-0778-01. | W | 3 credits | 3G | B. Clarysse, S. Brusoni, E. Fleisch, G. Grote, V. Hoffmann, T. Netland, Y. R. Shrestha, P. Tinguely, L. P. T. Vandeweghe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | Discovering Management offers an introduction to the field of business management and entrepreneurship for engineers and natural scientists. By taking this course, students will enhance their understanding of management principles and the tasks that entrepreneurs and managers deal with. The course consists of theory and practice sessions, presented by a set of area specialists at D-MTEC. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | The general objective of Discovering Management is to introduce students into the field of business management and entrepreneurship. In particular, the aims of the course are to: (1) broaden understanding of management principles and frameworks (2) advance insights into the sources of corporate and entrepreneurial success (3) develop skills to apply this knowledge to real-life managerial problems The course will help students to successfully take on managerial and entrepreneurial responsibilities in their carreers and / or appreciate the challenges that entrepreneurs and managers deal with. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | The course consists of a set of theory and practice sessions, which will be taught on a weekly basis. The course will cover business management knowledge in corporate as well as entrepreneurial contexts. The course consists of three blocks of theory and practice sessions: Discovering Strategic Management, Discovering Innovation Management, and Discovering HR and Operations Management. Each block consists of two or three theory sessions, followed by one practice session where you will apply the theory to a case. The theory sessions will follow a "lecture-style" approach and be presented by an area specialist within D-MTEC. Practical examples and case studies will bring the theoretical content to life. The practice sessions will introduce you to some real-life examples of managerial or entrepreneurial challenges. During the practice sessions, we will discuss these challenges in depth and guide your thinking through team coaching. Through small group work, you will develop analyses of each of the cases. Each group will also submit a "pitch" with a clear recommendation for one of the selected cases. The theory sessions will be assessed via a multiple choice exam. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | All course materials (readings, slides, videos, and worksheets) will be made available to inscribed course participants through Moodle. These course materials will form the point of departure for the lectures, class discussions and team work. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 851-0609-06L | Governing the Energy Transition  Primarily suited for Master and PhD level. | W | 2 credits | 2V | T. Schmidt, N. Schmid, S. Sewerin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course addresses the role of policy and its underlying politics in the transformation of the energy sector. It covers historical, socio-economic, and political perspectives and applies various theoretical concepts to understand specific aspects of the governance of the energy transition. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | - To gain an overview of the history of the transition of large technical systems - To recognize current challenges in the energy system to understand the theoretical frameworks and concepts for studying transitions - To gain knowledge on the role of policy and politics in energy transitions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Climate change, access to energy and other societal challenges are directly linked to the way we use and create energy. Both the 2015 United Nations Paris climate change agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals make a fast and extensive transition of the energy system necessary. This lecture introduces the social and environmental challenges involved in the energy sector and discusses the implications of these challenges for the rate and direction of technical change in the energy sector. It compares the current situation with historical socio-technical transitions and derives the consequences for policy-making. It introduces theoretical frameworks and concepts for studying innovation and transitions. It then focuses on the role of policy and policy change in governing the energy transition, considering the role of political actors, institutions and policy feedback. The grade will be determined by a final exam. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Slides and reading material will be made available via moodle.ethz.ch (only for registered students). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | A reading list will be provided via moodle.ethz.ch at the beginning of the semester. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | This course is particularly suited for students of the following programmes: MA Comparative International Studies; MSc Energy Science & Technology; MSc Environmental Sciences; MSc Management, Technology & Economics; MSc Science, Technology & Policy; ETH & UZH PhD programmes. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 363-1065-00L | Design Thinking: Human-Centred Solutions to Real World Challenges Does not take place this semester. | W | 5 credits | 5G | S. Brusoni | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | The goal of this course is to engage students in a multidisciplinary collaboration to tackle real world problems. Following a design thinking approach, students will work in teams to solve a set of design challenges that are organized as a one-week, a three-week, and a final six-week project in collaboration with an external project partner. Information and application: http://sparklabs.ch/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | During the course, students will learn about different design thinking methods and tools. This will enable them to: - Generate deep insights through the systematic observation and interaction of key stakeholders (empathy). - Engage in collaborative ideation with a multidisciplinary team. - Rapidly prototype and iteratively test ideas and concepts by using various materials and techniques. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | The purpose of this course is to equip the students with methods and tools to tackle a broad range of problems. Following a Design Thinking approach, the students will learn how to observe and interact with key stakeholders in order to develop an in-depth understanding of what is truly important and emotionally meaningful to the people at the center of a problem. Based on these insights, the students ideate on possible solutions and immediately validated them through quick iterations of prototyping and testing using different tools and materials. The students will work in multidisciplinary teams on a set of challenges that are organized as a one-week, a three-week, and a final six-week project with an external project partner. In this course, the students will learn about the different Design Thinking methods and tools that are needed to generate deep insights, to engage in collaborative ideation, rapid prototyping and iterative testing. Design Thinking is a deeply human process that taps into the creative abilities we all have, but that get often overlooked by more conventional problem solving practices. It relies on our ability to be intuitive, to recognize patterns, to construct ideas that are emotionally meaningful as well as functional, and to express ourselves through means beyond words or symbols. Design Thinking provides an integrated way by incorporating tools, processes and techniques from design, engineering, the humanities and social sciences to identify, define and address diverse challenges. This integration leads to a highly productive collaboration between different disciplines. For more information and the application visit: http://sparklabs.ch/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | Open mind, ability to manage uncertainty and to work with students from various background. Class attendance and active participation is crucial as much of the learning occurs through the work in teams during class. Therefore, attendance is obligatory for every session. Please also note that the group work outside class is an essential element of this course, so that students must expect an above-average workload. Please note that the class is designed for full-time MSc students. Interested MAS students need to send an email to Linda Armbruster to learn about the requirements of the class. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 857-0027-00L | International Organizations (Field Trip) Only for Comparative and International Studies MSc. | W | 2 credits | 1S | D. Hangartner | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | A two-day field trip to international organizations in Geneva - e.g., the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Become familiar with the work and challenges of international organizations based in Geneva. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Karen A. Mingst, Margaret P. Karns. The United Nations in the Twenty-First Century, Third Edition (Dilemmas in World Politics). Westview Press, 2007. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | Teams of 2-3 students prepare a 2-3 page background reading for the group on a specific international organization and lead the discussion with representatives of that organization during the visit. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 860-0023-00L | International Environmental Politics Particularly suitable for students of D-ITET, D-USYS | W | 3 credits | 2V | T. Bernauer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course focuses on the conditions under which problem solving efforts in international environmental politics emerge and the conditions under which such efforts and the respective public policies are effective. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | The objectives of this course are to (1) gain an overview of relevant questions in the area of international environmental politics from a social sciences viewpoint; (2) learn how to identify interesting/innovative questions concerning this policy area and how to answer them in a methodologically sophisticated way; (3) gain an overview of important global and regional environmental problems and how they could be solved. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | This course deals with how and why international problem solving efforts (cooperation) in environmental politics emerge, and under what circumstances such efforts are effective. Based on theories of international political economy and theories of government regulation various examples of international environmental politics are discussed: the management of international water resources, political responses to global warming, the protection of the stratospheric ozone layer, the reduction of long-range transboundary air pollution, protection of biodiversity, how to deal with plastic waste, the prevention of pollution of the oceans, etc. The course is open to all ETH students. Participation does not require previous coursework in the social sciences. After passing an end-of-semester test (requirement: grade 4.0 or higher) students will receive 3 ECTS credit points. The workload is around 90 hours (meetings, reading assignments, preparation of test). Visiting students (e.g., from the University of Zurich) are subject to the same conditions. Registration of visiting students in the web-based system of ETH is compulsory. This course will take place fully online. Course units have three components: 1. A pre-recorded lecture by Prof. Bernauer, available via Moodle, for all course units 2. Reading assignments, available via Moodle, for a few selected course units 3. Online meetings (via Zoom) for all course units on Mondays at 16:30 – 18:00, where we discuss your questions concerning the lecture and reading assignments and focus in greater depth on a particular facet of the respective course unit, on occasion with a guest (to be announced a few weeks ahead of the respective course unit). You must watch the lecture and complete the reading assignment for the respective unit ahead of the online meeting. The online meeting will be recorded and made available via Moodle. To facilitate your planning, the course is organized in terms of weekly units. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Assigned reading materials and slides will be available via Moodle. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Assigned reading materials and slides will be available via Moodle. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | This course will take place fully online. Course units have three components: 1. A pre-recorded lecture by Prof. Bernauer, available via Moodle, for all course units 2. Reading assignments, available via Moodle, for a few selected course units 3. Online meetings (via Zoom) for all course units on Mondays at 16:30 – 18:00, where we discuss your questions concerning the lecture and reading assignments and focus in greater depth on a particular facet of the respective course unit, on occasion with a guest (to be announced a few weeks ahead of the respective course unit). You must watch the lecture and complete the reading assignment for the respective unit ahead of the online meeting. The online meeting will be recorded and made available via Moodle. To facilitate your planning, the course is organized in terms of weekly units. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 860-0034-00L | Designing and Implementing Public Opinion Surveys and Experiments | W | 4 credits | 2V | L. P. Fesenfeld, F. Quoss | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course teaches the basics of public opinion surveys. We start with the theoretical foundations of the formation of (public) opinion formation and ideology, then turn to the practical lessons of developing and implementing own surveys with a focus on causal inference via survey experiments. Finally, we give practical insights into the analysis of (complex) survey data. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | The goals of this class are: - to understand the basics of public opinion research - to translate this theoretical knowledge into the practical design and implementation of surveys - to make use of survey experiments for causal inference At the end of the course, students should be able to use and evaluate public opinion data and design survey experiments to test policy-relevant questions. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 865-0008-00L | Policy Evaluation and Applied Statistics Does not take place this semester. Only for MAS in Development and Cooperation and Science, Technology, and Policy MSc. | W | 3 credits | 3G | I. Günther | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course introduces students to key methods for quantitative policy impact evaluation and covers the different stages of the research process. Acquired skills are applied in a self-selected project applying experimental methods. Students also learn how to perform simple statistical analyses with the statistical Software R. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Students - know strategies to test causal hypotheses using experimental methods and regression analysis. - are able to formulate and implement a research design for a particular policy question and a particular type of data. - are able to critically read and assess published studies on policy evaluation. - are able to use the statistical software R for data analysis. - can apply all the steps involved in a policy impact evaluation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Policy impact evaluation employs a wide variety of research methods, such as statistical analysis of secondary data, surveys or laboratory and field experiments. The course will begin with an overview of the various methodological approaches, including their advantages and disadvantages and the conditions under which their use is appropriate. It will continue with a discussion of the different stages of a policy impact evaluation, including hypothesis generation, formulating a research design, measurement, sampling, data collection and data analysis. For data analysis, linear regression models will be revised, with a focus on difference-in-difference methods, regression discontinuity design and randomized controlled trials used for policy evaluation. Students, who already have a solid background in these methods can skip these sessions. Throuhgout the course, students will work on a self-selected project on a suitable topic. In addition, students will have to solve bi-weekly assignments. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 701-1631-00L | Foundations of Ecosystem Management | W | 5 credits | 3G | J. Ghazoul, C. Garcia, J. Garcia Ulloa, A. Giger Dray | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course introduces the broad variety of conflicts that arise in projects focusing on sustainable management of natural resources. It explores case studies of ecosystem management approaches and considers their practicability, their achievements and possible barriers to their uptake. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Students should be able to a) propose appropriate and realistic solutions to ecosystem management problems that integrate ecological, economic and social dimensions across relevant temporal and spatial scales. b) identify important stakeholders, their needs and interests, and the main conflicts that exist among them in the context of land and resource management. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Traditional management systems focus on extraction of natural resources, and their manipulation and governance. However, traditional management has frequently resulted in catastrophic failures such as, for example, the collapse of fish stocks and biodiversity loss. These failures have stimulated the development of alternative ‘ecosystem management’ approaches that emphasise the functionality of human-dominated systems. Inherent to such approaches are system-wide perspectives and a focus on ecological processes and services, multiple spatial and temporal scales, as well as the need to incorporate diverse stakeholder interests in decision making. Thus, ecosystem management is the science and practice of managing natural resources, biodiversity and ecological processes, to meet multiple demands of society. It can be local, regional or global in scope, and addresses critical issues in developed and developing countries relating to economic and environmental security and sustainability. This course provides an introduction to ecosystem management, and in particular the importance of integrating ecology into management systems to meet multiple societal demands. The course explores the extent to which human-managed terrestrial systems depend on underlying ecological processes, and the consequences of degradation of these processes for human welfare and environmental well-being. Building upon a theoretical foundation, the course will tackle issues in resource ecology and management, notably forests, agriculture and wild resources within the broader context of sustainability, biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation or economic development. Case studies from tropical and temperate regions will be used to explore these issues. Dealing with ecological and economic uncertainty, and how this affects decision making, will be discussed. Strategies for conservation and management of terrestrial ecosystems will give consideration to landscape ecology, protected area systems, and community management, paying particular attention to alternative livelihood options and marketing strategies of common pool resources. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | No Script | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Chichilnisky, G. and Heal, G. (1998) Economic returns from the biosphere. Nature, 391: 629-630. Daily, G.C. (1997) Nature’s Services: Societal dependence on natural ecosystems. Island Press. Washington DC. Hindmarch, C. and Pienkowski, M. (2000) Land Management: The Hidden Costs. Blackwell Science. Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis. Island Press, Washington DC. Milner-Gulland, E.J. and Mace, R. (1998) Conservation of Biological Resources. Blackwell Science. Gunderson, L.H. and Holling, C.S. (2002) Panarchy: understanding transformations in human and natural systems. Island Press. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 851-0467-00L | From Traffic Modeling to Smart Cities and Digital Democracies Number of participants limited to 50. | W | 3 credits | 2S | D. Helbing, S. Mahajan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This seminar will present speakers who discuss the challenges and opportunities arisinig for our cities and societies with the digital revolution. Besides discussing questions of automation using Big Data, AI and other digital technologies, we will reflect on the question of how democracy could be digitally upgraded to promote innovation, sustainability, and resilience. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | To collect credit points, students will have to give a 30-40 minute presentation in the seminar, after which the presentation will be discussed. The presentation will be graded. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | This seminar will present speakers who discuss the challenges and opportunities arisinig for our cities and societies with the digital revolution. Besides discussing questions of automation using Big Data, AI and other digital technologies, we will also reflect on the question of how democracy could be digitally upgraded, and how citizen participation could contribute to innovation, sustainability, resilience, and quality of life. This includes questions around collective intelligence and digital platforms that support creativity, engagement, coordination and cooperation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Martin Treiber and Arne Kesting Traffic Flow Dynamics: Data, Models and Simulation Link Dirk Helbing Traffic and related self-driven many-particle systems Reviews of Modern Physics 73, 1067 https://journals.aps.org/rmp/abstract/10.1103/RevModPhys.73.1067 Dirk Helbing An Analytical Theory of Traffic Flow (collection of papers) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261629187 Michael Batty, Kay Axhausen et al. Smart cities of the future Books by Michael Batty https://link.springer.com/article/10.1140/epjst/e2012-01703-3 How social influence can undermine the wisdom of crowd effect https://www.pnas.org/content/108/22/9020 Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups https://science.sciencemag.org/content/330/6004/686.full Optimal incentives for collective intelligence https://www.pnas.org/content/114/20/5077.short Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace Link Big Mind: How Collective Intelligence Can Change Our World https://www.amazon.com/Big-Mind-Collective-Intelligence-Change/dp/0691170797/ Programming Collective Intelligence Link Urban architecture as connective-collective intelligence. Which spaces of interaction? https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/7/2928 Build digital democracy https://www.nature.com/news/society-build-digital-democracy-1.18690 How to make democracy work in the digital age Link Digital Democracy: How to make it work? http://futurict.blogspot.com/2020/06/digital-democracy-how-to-make-it-work.html Proof of witness presence: Blockchain consensus for augmented democracy in smart cities https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0743731520303282 Iterative Learning Control for Multi-agent Systems Coordination Link Decentralized Collective Learning for Self-managed Sharing Economies https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3277668 Further literature will be recommended in the lectures. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 851-0585-41L | Computational Social Science Number of participants limited to 50. | W | 3 credits | 2S | D. Helbing, J. Argota Sánchez-Vaquerizo, M. Korecki | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | The seminar aims at three-fold integration: (1) bringing modeling and computer simulation of techno-socio-economic processes and phenomena together with related empirical, experimental, and data-driven work, (2) combining perspectives of different scientific disciplines (e.g. sociology, computer science, physics, complexity science, engineering), (3) bridging between fundamental and applied work. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Participants of the seminar should understand how tightly connected systems lead to networked risks, and why this can imply systems we do not understand and cannot control well, thereby causing systemic risks and extreme events. They should also be able to explain how systemic instabilities can be understood by changing the perspective from a component-oriented to an interaction- and network-oriented view, and what fundamental implications this has for the proper design and management of complex dynamical systems. Computational Social Science and Global Systems Science serve to better understand the emerging digital society with its close co-evolution of information and communication technology (ICT) and society. They make current theories of crises and disasters applicable to the solution of global-scale problems, taking a data-based approach that builds on a serious collaboration between the natural, engineering, and social sciences, i.e. an interdisciplinary integration of knowledge. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Computational Social Science https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/323/5915/721.full.pdf Manifesto of Computational Social Science https://link.springer.com/article/10.1140/epjst/e2012-01697-8 Social Self-Organisation https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783642240034 How simple rules determine pedestrian behaviour and crowd disasters https://www.pnas.org/content/108/17/6884.short Peer review and competition in the Art Exhibition Game https://www.pnas.org/content/113/30/8414.short Generalized network dismantling https://www.pnas.org/content/116/14/6554.short Computational Social Science: Obstacles and Opportunities https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6507/1060?rss%253D1= Bit by Bit: Social Research in the Digital Age https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bit-Social-Research-Digital-Age-ebook/dp/B072MPFXX2/ Further literature will be recommended in the lectures. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 363-0537-00L | Resource and Environmental Economics | W | 3 credits | 2G | L. Bretschger | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | Relationship between economy and environment, market failures, external effects and public goods, contingent valuation, internalisation of externalities, economics of non-renewable resources, economics of renewable resources, environmental cost-benefit analysis, sustainability economics, and international resource and environmental problems. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | A successful completion of the course will enable a thorough understanding of the basic questions and methods of resource and environmental economics and the ability to solve typical problems using appropriate tools consisting of concise verbal explanations, diagrams or mathematical expressions. Concrete goals are first of all the acquisition of knowledge about the main questions of resource and environmental economics and about the foundation of the theory with different normative concepts in terms of efficiency and fairness. Secondly, students should be able to deal with environmental externalities and internalisation through appropriate policies or private negotiations, including knowledge of the available policy instruments and their relative strengths and weaknesses. Thirdly, the course will allow for in-depth economic analysis of renewable and non-renewable resources, including the role of stock constraints, regeneration functions, market power, property rights and the impact of technology. A fourth objective is to successfully use the well-known tool of cost-benefit analysis for environmental policy problems, which requires knowledge of the benefits of an improved natural environment. The last two objectives of the course are the acquisition of sufficient knowledge about the economics of sustainability and the application of environmental economic theory and policy at international level, e.g. to the problem of climate change. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | The course covers all the interactions between the economy and the natural environment. It introduces and explains basic welfare concepts and market failure; external effects, public goods, and environmental policy; the measurement of externalities and contingent valuation; the economics of non-renewable resources, renewable resources, cost-benefit-analysis, sustainability concepts; international aspects of resource and environmental problems; selected examples and case studies. After a general introduction to resource and environmental economics, highlighting its importace and the main issues, the course explains the normative basis, utilitarianism, and fairness according to different principles. Pollution externalities are a deep core topic of the lecture. We explain the governmental internalisation of externalities as well as the private internalisation of externalities (Coase theorem). Furthermore, the issues of free rider problems and public goods, efficient levels of pollution, tax vs. permits, and command and control instruments add to a thorough analysis of environmental policy. Turning to resource supply, the lecture first looks at empirical data on non-renewable natural resources and then develops the optimal price development (Hotelling-rule). It deals with the effects of explorations, new technologies, and market power. When treating the renewable resources, we look at biological growth functions, optimal harvesting of renewable resources, and the overuse of open-access resources. A next topic is cost-benefit analysis with the environment, requiring measuring environmental benefits and measuring costs. In the chapter on sustainability, the course covers concepts of sustainability, conflicts with optimality, and indicators of sustainability. In a final chapter, we consider international environmental problems and in particular climate change and climate policy. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Perman, R., Ma, Y., McGilvray, J, Common, M.: "Natural Resource & Environmental Economics", 4th edition, 2011, Harlow, UK: Pearson Education | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 701-1563-00L | Climate Policy | W | 6 credits | 3G | A. Patt, S. Hanger-Kopp | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course provides an in-depth of analysis both of the theoretical underpinnings to different approaches to climate policy at the international and national levels, and how these different approaches have played out in practice. Students will learn how legislative frameworks have developed over the last 25 years, and also be able to appraise those frameworks critically. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time, touching all aspects of the environment and of society. There is broad recognition (although with some dissent) that governments ought to do something about it: making sure that emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) stop within the next 30 to 40 years; helping people to adapt to the consequences of the climate change to which we have already committed ourselves; and, most controversially, perhaps taking measures to actively remove GHG’s from the atmosphere, or to alter the radiation balance of the Earth through solar engineering. It’s a complicated set of problems, especially the first of these, known as mitigation. Fundamentally this is because it means doing something that humanity has never really tried before at a planetary scale: deliberately altering the ways the we produce, convert, and consume energy, which is at the heart of modern society. Modern society – the entire anthropocene – grew up on fossil fuels, and the huge benefits they offered in terms of energy that was inexpensive, easy to transport and store, and very dense in terms of its energy content per unit mass or volume. How to manage a society of over 7 billion people, at anything like today’s living standards, without the benefits of that energy, is a question for which there is no easy answer. There are also other challenges outside of energy. How do we build houses, office buildings, and infrastructure networks without cement, a substance that releases large amounts of CO2 as it hardens? How do we reverse the pace of deforestation, particularly in developing countries? How do we eliminate the GHG emissions from agriculture: the methane from cows’ bellies and rice paddies, together with the chemicals that enter the atmosphere from the application of fertilizer? These are all tough questions at a technical level, but even tougher when you consider that governments typically need to employ indirect methods to get these things to happen. Arguably a government could simply pass a law that forbids people from using fossil fuels. But politically this is simply unrealistic, at least while so many people depend on fossil fuels in their daily lives. What is to be done? For this, one needs to turn to various ideas about how government can and should influence society. On the one hand are ideas suggesting that government ought to play a very limited role, relative to private actors, and should step in only to correct “market failures,” with interventions designed specifically around that failure. On the other hand are ideas suggesting that government (meaning all of us, working together through a democratic process) is the appropriate decision-making body for core decisions on where society can and should go. These issues come to the fore in climate policy discussions and debates. This course is about all that. The goal is to give students a glimpse into the enormous complexity of this policy area, an understanding of some of the many debates that are currently raging (of which the debate about whether climate change is actually real is probably the least complicated or interesting). We want to give students the ability to evaluate policy arguments made by politicians, experts, and academics with a critical eye, informed by a knowledge of history, an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings, and the results of empirical testing of different strategies. A student taking this course ought to be able to step into an NGO or government agency involved in climate policy analysis or political advocacy, and immediately be able to make an informed and creative contribution. Moreover, by experiencing the depth of this policy area, students should be able to appreciate the complexity inherent in all policy areas. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | There will be daily reading assignments, which we will then discuss critically during the class sessions. All of these will be posted in PDF format on a course Moodle. In addition, there will be two books to be read over the course of the semester. Both of these can be accessed from the ETH library or in PDF form free of charge. They are: The Climate Casino, by William Nordhaus. Yale University Press. Transforming Energy, by Anthony Patt. Cambridge University Press. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 052-0707-00L | Urban Design III | W | 2 credits | 2V | H. Klumpner, M. Fessel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | Students are introduced to a narrative of 'Urban Stories' through a series of three tools driven by social, governance, and environmental transformations in today's urbanization processes. Each lecture explores one city's spatial and organizational ingenuity born out of a particular place's realities, allowing students to transfer these inventions into a catalog of conceptual tools. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | How can students of architecture become active agents of change? What does it take to go beyond a building's scale, making design-relevant decisions to the city rather than a single client? How can we design in cities with a lack of land, tax base, risk, and resilience, understanding that Zurich is the exception and these other cities are the rule? How can we discover, set rather than follow trends and understand existing urban phenomena activating them in a design process? The lecture series produces a growing catalog of operational urban tools across the globe, considering Governance, Social, and Environmental realities. Instead of limited binary comparing of cities, we are building a catalog of change, analyzing what design solutions cities have been developing informally incrementally over time, why, and how. We look at the people, institutions, culture behind the design and make concepts behind these tools visible. Students get first-hand information from cities where the chair as a Team has researched, worked, or constructed projects over the last year, allowing competent, practical insight about the people and topics that make these places unique. Students will be able to use and expand an alternative repertoire of experiences and evidence-based design tools, go to the conceptual core of them, and understand how and to what extent they can be relevant in other places. Urban Stories is the basic practice of architecture and urban design. It introduces a repertoire of urban design instruments to the students to use, test, and start their designs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Urban form cannot be reduced to physical space. Cities result from social construction, under the influence of technologies, ecology, culture, the impact of experts, and accidents. Urban un-concluded processes respond to political interests, economic pressure, cultural inclinations, along with the imagination of architects and urbanists and the informal powers at work in complex adaptive systems. Current urban phenomena are the result of urban evolution. The facts stored in urban environments include contributions from its entire lifecycle, visible in the physical environment, and non-physical aspects. This imaginary city exists along with its potentials and problems and with the conflicts that have evolved. Knowledge and understanding, along with a critical observation of the actions and policies, are necessary to understand the diversity and instability present in the contemporary city and understand how urban form evolved to its current state. How did cities develop into the cities we live in now? Urban plans, instruments, visions, political decisions, economic reasonings, cultural inputs, and social organization have been used to operate in urban settlements in specific moments of change. We have chosen cities that exemplify how these instruments have been implemented and how they have shaped urban environments. We transcribe these instruments into urban operational tools that we have recognized and collected within existing tested cases in contemporary cities across the globe. This lecture series will introduce urban knowledge and the way it has introduced urban models and operational modes within different concrete realities, therefore shaping cities. The lecture series translates urban knowledge into operational tools, extracted from cities where they have been tested and become exemplary samples, most relevant for understanding how the urban landscape has taken shape. The tools are clustered in twelve thematic clusters and three tool scales for better comparability and cross-reflection. The Tool case studies are compiled into a global urbanization toolbox, which we use as typological models to read the city and critically reflect upon it. The presented contents are meant to serve as inspiration for positioning in future professional life and provide instruments for future design decisions. In an interview with a local designer, we measure our insights against the most pressing design topics in cities today, including inclusion, affordable housing, provision of public spaces, and infrastructure for all. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | The learning material, available via https://moodle-app2.let.ethz.ch/ is comprised of: - Toolbox 'Reader' with an introduction to the lecture course and tool summaries - Weekly exercise tasks - Infographics with basic information of each city - Quiz question for each tool - Additional reading material - Interviews with experts - Archive of lecture recordings | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | - Reading material will be provided throughout the semester. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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