This course will provide the student with an overview of the role that ethical, cultural, religious, and moral principles play in public policy. The course will introduce the student to common themes found in the foundational theories of ethics and morality in politics such as justice, equality, fairness, individual liberty, free enterprise, charity, fundamental human rights, and minimizing harm to others. These themes are integrated into various decision-making models that you will learn about. Students will examine five types of decision frameworks used to make and implement public policy, as well as rationales used to justify inequitable impact and outcomes of policies. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: explain how personal morality and ethics impact the policymaking process; discuss various ethical frameworks used to resolve policy dilemmas; identify statutes, ethical codes, and legal opinions that define the normative parameters of key domestic and international policy issues; assess the impact that public interest groups have on policymaking and execution of policies. (Political Science 401)

This course offers a broad survey of modern European history, from the end of the Thirty Years' War to the aftermath of World War II. Along with the consideration of major events and figures such as the French Revolution and Napoleon, attention will be paid to the experience of ordinary people in times of upheaval and transition. The period will thus be viewed neither in terms of historical inevitability nor as a procession of great men, but rather through the lens of the complex interrelations between demographic change, political revolution, and cultural development. Textbook accounts will be accompanied by the study of exemplary works of art, literature, and cinema.

This unit describes the application of evidence-based medicine (EBM). The discussion begins with the framing of clinical questions that can be answered by appropriate evidence. It then demonstrates how to find and apply the best evidence for answering four major types of clinical questions: interventions, diagnosis, harm, and prognosis. The unit also introduces summarizing of evidence (systematic reviews) as well as clinical practice guidelines and concludes with a discussion of the limitations of EBM.

The four major wars in which American women served after World War II can be split into two pairs. Korea and Vietnam were conflicts fought in Asian countries divided by the politics of the Cold War. The Persian Gulf War and the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq were fought in the Middle East and grew out of tensions over aggression in that region and, in the latter instance, the 9/11 attacks. For women, the first two wars signaled few advances in their roles in military service, but in the two recent wars, the areas of women’s participation expanded immensely, with potentially more dire consequences.

Ever feel as if you are paying the price for someone else's "deal"? Perhaps you are choking on the pollution from a foundry where cheap widgets are made. That spillover effect is called an externality. There are positive ones, too.

The second episode of our podcast series, The Economic Lowdown, discusses the building blocks of the economy, the factors of production.

"Father Christmas" by The Kinks is used in conjunction with Joel Waldfogel's article "The Deadweight Loss of Christmas" to examine the relative value of cash versus inkind gifts. This can then be extended to an analysis of various public policies.

This patient education program discusses fibromyalgia including the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. It also reviews information about the musculoskeletal system, healthy living strategies for managing fibromyalgia, and complementary therapies. This resource is a MedlinePlus Interactive Health Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine, designed and developed by the Patient Education Institute.

Financial institutions are a pillar of civilized society, supporting people in their productive ventures and managing the economic risks they take on. The workings of these institutions are important to comprehend if we are to predict their actions today and their evolution in the coming information age. The course strives to offer understanding of the theory of finance and its relation to the history, strengths and imperfections of such institutions as banking, insurance, securities, futures, and other derivatives markets, and the future of these institutions over the next century.

This course attempts to explain the role and the importance of the financial system in the global economy. Rather than separating off the financial world from the rest of the economy, financial equilibrium is studied as an extension of economic equilibrium. The course also gives a picture of the kind of thinking and analysis done by hedge funds.

This introductory unit covers definitions of terms used in the component, with an emphasis on paradigm shifts in healthcare, including the transition from physician-centric to patient-centric care, the transition from individual care to interdisciplinary team-based care, and the central role of technology in healthcare delivery. This unit also emphasizes the core values in US healthcare.

This unit continues the discussion of healthcare financing at the governmental, organizational, and consumer levels. It describes the revenue cycle for healthcare organizations, identifies the different reimbursement methodologies and standards developed for the billing (reimbursement) process. Finally, this unit reviews some of the factors responsible for the escalating healthcare expenditures in the US and discusses some methods for controlling rising medical costs.

“Recession” is one of the scariest words in economics. The loss of jobs and income can have lasting impacts on people’s lives. How does the economy get back on track when it’s off course? In this episode of The Economic Lowdown podcast series, you’ll learn about how the government uses fiscal policy to influence the economy.

This is a 21 day unit on the topic of floods. Students will plan and prepare for what might happen in the event of a flood in our area. We have had floods in the past that have affected the Walterville School, its campus, and the surrounding areas. Using this as a springboard, students will discuss the effects of flooding, do research and interview family members who have experienced flooding, and then discuss possible ways to prevent significant damage on the buildings and surrounding areas. They will then design a barrier that could protect an area from damage for a period of time. Students will need materials to conduct experiments. We have listed these in the lesson plan. We have also included a trip to the Leaburg Dam so that students can learn about dams and their uses. We plan on teaching this unit in the fall.

ChangED is an educator based podcast for Pennsylvania teachers to learn more about the PA STEELS Standards and science in general.  It is hosted by Andrew Kuhn, Tony Mirabito and Patrice Semicek.  This episode features Ken Zimmerman discussing the benefits of student-centered learning and its transformative effects on both students and teachers. Embracing experimentation and risk-taking in the classroom can lead to significant positive outcomes.

This course provides an overview of major works of social thought from the beginning of the modern era through the 1920s. Attention is paid to social and intellectual contexts, conceptual frameworks and methods, and contributions to contemporary social analysis. Writers include Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, Marx, Weber, and Durkheim.

This course covers the emergence of modern France. Topics include the social, economic, and political transformation of France; the impact of France's revolutionary heritage, of industrialization, and of the dislocation wrought by two world wars; and the political response of the Left and the Right to changing French society.

Money has taken many forms through the ages: shells, wheels, beads and even cows. All forms, though, have always had three things in common. Find out what in this eight-minute podcast. You will also learn how commodity money differs from representative money and how both differ from today's fiat money.

This unit covers five topics concerning the future of computing: trends in computing, interfaces used to communicate with computer systems, cloud computing, the changing social implications of the use of computer systems, and the ubiquity of computers in our daily lives.

This course is an introduction to game theory and strategic thinking. Ideas such as dominance, backward induction, Nash equilibrium, evolutionary stability, commitment, credibility, asymmetric information, adverse selection, and signaling are discussed and applied to games played in class and to examples drawn from economics, politics, the movies, and elsewhere.