NSU 2014-2015 Undergraduate Catalog

460 Nova Southeastern University • Undergraduate Student Catalog • 2014–2015 COURSE DESCRIPTIONS solutions can be seen through various viewpoints particularly in the areas of statistics, genetics, and probability. UNIV 1010Z First Year Seminar: Decay on the Internet: Your Identity takes a Plunge (3 credits) This course is an interactive first-year seminar connected to the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences’ annual theme of Identity. With great expectations of sharing communication and information with family, friends, dates, classmates, etc., in an information-rich society, Internet users often make the fatal error of preserving unintended identities forever. This course examines the implications of gossip, rumor and privacy issues in collision with perceptions of an individual’s true personality and characteristics. Students will explore the role information technology plays in their online life that can affect their real life. UNIV 1011A Gene Therapy and Neurotechnology: Tools to Alter Your Identity (3 credits) This course is an interactive first-year seminar designed to examine the potential of gene therapy and neurotechnology in human. Topics that will be covered include theoretical background, use of viruses in gene therapy, current research/clinical data, limitations and risks of gene therapy, and potential future applications. Upon learning the science behind both gene therapy and neurotechnology, students will analyze the potential applications of these techniques as they go beyond the treatment of diseases, and offer the technical ability to alter one’s identity (as already illustrated by gene doping concerns). Philosophical and ethical issues surrounding these technologies will also be addressed. UNIV 1011B First Year Seminar: When a Dolphin Looks in the Mirror, What Does She See? (3 credits) This course is an interactive first-year seminar connected to the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences’ annual theme of Identity. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are well known for their intelligence and adaptability. In captivity they easily learn complex behaviors and often imitate each other and their human caretakers. The brains of bottlenose dolphins are almost as large as those of humans, and are larger that all of the other primates, when expressed as a percentage of body weight. Dolphins are also among the small group of non-human animals that have demonstrated evidence of understanding symbolic artificial languages, syntax, and semantics. Recent experiments have demonstrated that dolphins may also have self-awareness, the ability to comprehend and think about oneself as a separate individual. This course will explore the scientific basis for the study of dolphin self-awareness, and the psychological and philosophical controversies arising from the scientific evidence of dolphin self-identity. UNIV 1011C First Year Seminar: Graphic UNIV 1010V Who are you? How the US Supreme Court Shapes Our Identity (3 credits) This is an interactive seminar for first year students. Connected to the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences annual theme, this course introduces students to fundamentals of scholarly life and the expectations of student/faculty learning. This course will introduce students to how Supreme Court landmark decisions have determined how our religious, social, and sexual identity are defined and accepted in a variety of areas such as employment, academia, and societal involvement. Students will analyze landmark Supreme Court decisions and discuss the influence these decisions have had on the law and society. The course will explore how Supreme Court decisions have evolved (or remained stagnant) on government involvement related to our age, ethnicity, religious, sexual, and racial identity. UNIV 1010W First Year Seminar: Do you know who you are? Adventures in Discovery Science (3 credits) This is an interactive seminar for first year students. Connected to the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences annual theme, this course introduces students to fundamentals of scholarly life and the expectations of student/faculty learning. This course will introduce students to the people who reached out for adventure and occasionally risked their lives to follow their dreams of discovery in science. In the course of discussions about evolution, living fossils, dinosaurs, asteroid strikes, and genetic diseases, students will discover how they fit into the grand tradition of scientists who began with curiosity and, in the end, changed how we see ourselves and our place in the world. UNIV 1010X First Year Seminar: Beyond Web (3 credits) The course will review the impact of the Internet and the Web on personal identity and productivity. Impacts already felt on political systems, emergency response systems, and crisis management will be reviewed and analyzed. The course will look at the impact on how services will be rendered and products will be developed in the future and what will the governments have to do to meet the expectations of the wired populations. The classical science fiction will also be reviewed and its impact on the technical evolution will be analyzed. Possible future scenarios will be critically analyzed and student will write a report on their own prediction of one aspect of the future. UNIV 1010Y First Year Seminar: Identity in a Mathematical World (3 credits) This course is an interactive first-year seminar. Connected to the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences’ annual theme of Identity, this course introduces students to truths (and falsehoods) in life through statistical analyses of real data and real situations. We’ll examine the fundamental basis for mathematical identities and proofs and how