Learning outcomes After studying this course, you should be able to: identify the economic issues faced by developing countries in mutilateral trade negotiations describe these issues from a developing country perspective explain how the economic power of nations impinges upon the ability of states to negotiate settlements that are beneficial to them.
Introduction Free trade or fair trade? This course will help you to analyse the relationship that exists between developed and developing countries under the World Trade Organization regime of Development Round negotiations. The current world trade regime has a very mixed record in promoting growth and reducing poverty. This OpenLearn course provides a sample of Level 3 study in Author(s):
Tackling noise pollution
Noise is one of the forms of pollution that characterises industrial societies. Many forms of noise in the urban environment, including traffic and aircraft noise, can cause significant harm in varying degrees. So just how much noise are you exposed to? The tracks in this album explain the measurement and control of noise and look at how motor engineers and road researchers are trying to cut down on noise pollution from transport. Lastly, two audio tracks featuring Dr Shahram Taherzadeh and Dr S
Cyborgs and cybernetics
What are cyborgs? Would a cyborg future deliver positive human advances or a Hollywood-style nightmare in which human beings have become a sub-species? Could we one day download our minds? This album gives an insight into the development of cybernetics and how it is used to fuse technology and humanity. The interfaces that communicate between man and machine are developing rapidly and to Prof. Kevin Warwick at Reading University, cyborgs are a technological evolutionary step forward from humans.
Music in Code
Today, listening to music is easy - we have CDs, MP3s, radio, television and the internet. But around a hundred years ago life was very different - either you had to play music yourself or have someone else play it for you. The 15 video tracks in this album demonstrate various ways to play music by mechanical means, with the ingenious use of levers, pegs, cylinders or paper rolls, and explain the principles used to create and control these music-making machines. This material forms part of TA212
Introduction The fascinating phenomenon of superconductivity and its potential applications have attracted the attention of scientists, engineers and businessmen. Intense research has taken place to discover new superconductors, to understand the physics that underlies the properties of superconductors, and to develop new applications for these materials. In this course you will read about the history of superconductors, taking a brief look at their properties. You will also learn about modelling the prop
Introduction This course contains material that is essential to learning about music technology. Here you will explore the concept of sound and be introduced to the physics behind travelling pressure waves as the physical manifestation of sound. You will also learn about the subjective perception of pitch and loudness, in particular their relationship to frequency and amplitude. This OpenLearn course provides a sample of Level 2 study in Technology Author(s):
Approaches to software development
This free course, Approaches to software development, presents an engineering approach to the development of software systems – a software engineering approach. The course pays particular attention to issues of software quality, in terms of both product (what is built) and process (how we build it). First published on Mon, 18 Jun 2018 as Author(s):
3.2 Sub-state forms of nationalism The advancement of democracy in contemporary Western nation-states and the intensification of globalisation processes have encouraged the re-emergence of nationalist movements representing oppressed or silenced nations that demand the right to self-determination. In the case of ethnic groups formed by people of immigrant origin, democracy has provided them with the tools to pursue the right to develop and practice their indigenous culture and language alongside those of the host country. One
3.3 Thermal stresses When the temperature of an object increases (say, by ΔT) it expands. According to the linear model of thermal expansion the length increase is described by What if there is a temperature change, but some constraint prevents the proper thermal size
5.2.2 Owning problems Problem ownership is a tricky issue. It's also an issue that good leaders get right instinctively, and poor leaders get wrong consistently. The point is that there are two distinct classes of problems faced by leaders. The first consists of problems which are owned by the group members. Examples include when some additional resources are required, when instructions are not understood or when members complain that something is wrong. Under these conditions the leader's function is to provide p
4.2 Project life cycles Earlier I said that a project is: 'a unique venture with a beginning and an end' (Boddy and Buchanan, 1992, p. 8). But it must have a middle, too. We say that a project has a 'life cycle'. This is based on an analogy with living things which are born, live for a period of time, doing things like consuming food and water, breathing, moving, etc., and then finally end (die). There is much discussion about whether there is only one 'true' model of a project life cycle or many, and whether any of
3.2.4 Functional and team roles When individuals are being selected for membership of a team, the choice is usually made on the basis of task-related issues, such as their prior skills, knowledge, and experience. However, team effectiveness is equally dependent on the personal qualities and attributes of individual team members. It is just as important to select for these as well. When we work with other people in a group or team we each bring two types of role to that relationship. The first, and more obvious, is our
3.2.2 Group size Another significant feature of a work group is its size. To be effective it should be neither too large nor too small. As membership increases there is a trade-off between increased collective expertise and decreased involvement and satisfaction of individual members. A very small group may not have the range of skills it requires to function well. The optimum size depends partly on the group's purpose. A group for information sharing or decision making may need to be larger than one for prob
5.5 Other forms of diabetes By far the three most common types of diabetes are Type 1, Type 2 and gestational. There are other forms of diabetes but we will not be covering them in any more detail. These are forms due to: disease of the pancreas (pancreatitis) an excess of hormones that increase blood glucose levels, e.g. excess growth hormone drugs, for example, steroid therapy, which tend to oppose the action of insulin abnorm
2.3.6 'Horses for courses' Different team structures have different advantages and disadvantages. A structure may fit a particular task in one organisation better than another. On the next page, Table 1 sets out the strengths and weaknesses of different team structures. 2.3.5 Mixed structures Teams often have mixed structures: some members may be employed to work full time on the project and be fully responsible to the project manager. Project managers themselves are usually employed full time. others may work part time, and be responsible to the project manager only during their time on the project. For example, internal staff may well work on several projects at the same time. Alternatively, an external consultant working o Appendix 2 Acronyms
Table 1 Strengths and weaknesses of different structures for project teams
