Search result: Catalogue data in Spring Semester 2021

GESS Science in Perspective Information
Only the courses listed below will be recognized as "GESS Science in Perspective" courses.

Further below you will find courses under the category "Type B courses Reflections about subject specific methods and content" as well as the language courses.

During the Bachelor’s degree Students should acquire at least 6 ECTS and during the Master’s degree 2 ECTS.

Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again.
Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence
Suitable for all students.

Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again.
Sociology
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
851-0252-06LIntroduction to Social Networks: Theory, Methods and Applications
This course is intended for students interested in data analysis and with basic knowledge of inferential statistics.
W3 credits2GC. Stadtfeld, U. Brandes
AbstractHumans are connected by various social relations. When aggregated, we speak of social networks. This course discusses how social networks are structured, how they change over time and how they affect the individuals that they connect. It integrates social theory with practical knowledge of cutting-edge statistical methods and applications from a number of scientific disciplines.
ObjectiveThe aim is to enable students to contribute to social networks research and to be discriminating consumers of modern literature on social networks. Students will acquire a thorough understanding of social networks theory (1), practical skills in cutting-edge statistical methods (2) and their applications in a number of scientific fields (3).
In particular, at the end of the course students will
- Know the fundamental theories in social networks research (1)
- Understand core concepts of social networks and their relevance in different contexts (1, 3)
- Be able to describe and visualize networks data in the R environment (2)
- Understand differences regarding analysis and collection of network data and other type of survey data (2)
- Know state-of-the-art inferential statistical methods and how they are used in R (2)
- Be familiar with the core empirical studies in social networks research (2, 3)
- Know how network methods can be employed in a variety of scientific disciplines (3)
851-0252-10LProject in Behavioural Finance Restricted registration - show details
Does not take place this semester.
Number of participants limited to 40

Particularly suitable for students of D-MTEC
W3 credits2SC. Hölscher
AbstractThis interactive practical course provides and overview of the key topics in behavioral finance. Along studying information about investor's behavior, decision-making, cognitive, biological and personality markers of risk taking and measuring risk appetite, students train critical thinking, argumentation and presentation. The learning process is based on interactive discussions and presentations.
ObjectiveThis course provides an overview of the key topics in behavioural finance and gives the opportunity for a first hands-on experience in designing, analysing and presenting a behavioural study. In the first half of the semester, students present papers from different topics within behavioural finance, including Judgment and Decision Making, psychometrics and individual differences, and risk perception and eliciting people’s propensity to take risk, biological markers of risk taking and investment behavior and trading games. The paper presentations are informal, require no power-point presentations and are followed by a discussion with the rest of the students in the class. The goal of these presentations is three-fold: in an interactive and engaging way, to provide an overview of the topics contained in the area of behavioural finance, to teach students to extract the most relevant information from scientific papers and be able to communicate them to their peers and to enhance critical thinking during the discussion.
In the middle of the semester, the students pick a topic in which they want to conduct a small study. Some topics will be offered by the lecturers, but students are free to choose a topic of their own.
This is followed by fine-tuning their research questions given found literature, data collection and analysis. At the end of the semester students receive feedback and advice on the data analysis and present the results in a formal presentation with slides. The final assignment is a written report from their study. Active participation in the meetings is mandatory to pass the course. This course does not involve learning by heart.

Key skills after the course completion:
- Overview of topics in behavioural finance
- Communication of research output in an a formal and informal way, in an oral and written form
- Critical thinking
- Argumentation and study design
Content- Giving presentations
- How to quickly "read" a paper
- Judgment and Decision Making, Heuristics and Biases
- Biology on the trading floor
- Psychometrics and individual differences
- Eliciting people's propensity to take risks
- Experimental design in behavioural studies
- Experimental Asset Markets
Lecture notesAll learning materials will be available to students over eDoz platform.
LiteratureTversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1992). Advance in prospect theory: Cumulative representation of uncertainty. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 5(4), 297-323

Rieskamp, J. (2008). The probabilistic nature of preferential choice. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, memory and Cognition, 34(6), 1446-1465

Hertwig, R., & Herzog, S. (2009). Fast and frugal heuristics: Tools of social rationality. Social Cognition, 27(5), 661-698

Coates, J.M., Gurnell, M., & Sarnyai, Z. (2010). From molecule to market: steroid hormones and financial risk taking. Philosophical Transacations of the Royal Society B, 365, 331-343

Cueva, C., Roberts, R.E., Spencer, T., Rani, N., Tempest, M., Tobler, P.N., Herbert, J., & Rustichini (2015). Cortisol and testosterone increase financial risk taking and may destabilize markets. Nature, 5(11206), 1-16

Conlin, A., Kyröläinen, P., Kaakinen, M., Järvelin, M-R., Perttunen, J., & Svento, R. (2015). Personality traits and stock market participation. Journal of Empirical Finance, 33, 34-50

Kosinski, M., Stillwell, D., & Graepel, T. (2013). Private traits and attributes are predictable from digital records of human behavior. Proceedings in National Academy of Sciences, 110, 5802-5805

Oehler, A., Wedlich, F., Wendt, S., & Horn, M. (July 9, 2016). Available at SSRN: Link

Fenton-O'Creevy, M., Nicholson, N., Soane, E., & Willman, P. (2003). Trading on illusions: Unrealistic perceptions of control and trading performance. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 76, 53-68

Frey, R., Pedroni, A., Mata, R., Rieskamp, J., & Hertwig, R. (2017). Risk preference shares the psychometric structure of major psychological traits. Science Advances, 3, 1-13

Schürmann, O., Andraszewicz, S., & Rieskamp, J. (2017). The importance of losses when eliciting risk preferences. Under review

Andraszewicz, S., Kaszas, D., Zeisberger, S., Murphy, R.O., & Hölscher, C. (2017). Simulating historical market crashes in the laboratory. Manuscript in preparation.

Allenbach, M., Kaszas, D., Andraszewicz, S., & Hölscher, C. (2017). Skin conductance response as marker or risk undertaken by investors. Manuscript in preparation.

Simic, M., Kaszas, D., Andraszewicz, S., & Hölscher, C. (2017). Incentive structure compatibility in a principal agent problem. Manuscript in preparation.

Sornette, D., Andraszewicz, S., Wu, K., Murphy, R.O., Rindlerm P., & Sanadgol, D. (2017). Overpricing persistance in experimental asset markets with intrinsic uncertainty. Under review.

Andraszewicz, S., Wu, K., & Sornette, D. (2017). Behavioural effects and market dynamics in field and laboratory experimental asset markets. Under review.
Prerequisites / NoticeGrading is based the active participation in the class and the final project. There is no exam.
851-0586-03LApplied Network Science: Sports Networks Restricted registration - show details
Number of participant limited to 20
W3 credits2SU. Brandes
AbstractWe study applications of network science methods, this time in the domain of sports.
Topics are selected for diversity in research questions and techniques
with applications such as passing networks, team rankings, and career trajectories.
Student teams present results from the recent literature, possibly with replication, in a mini-conference shortly before the start of EURO 2020 [sic].
ObjectiveNetwork science as a paradigm is entering domains from engineering to the humantities but application is tricky.
By examples from recent research on sports, sports administration, and the sociology of sports, students learn to appreciate that, and how, context matters.
They will be able to assess the appropriateness of approaches
for substantive research problems, and especially when and why quantitative approaches are or are not suitable.
LiteratureOriginal research articles will be introduced in the first session. General introduction:

Wäsche, Dickson, Woll & Brandes (2017). Social Network Analysis in Sport Research: An Emerging Paradigm. European Journal for Sport and Society 14(2):138-165. DOI: 10.1080/16138171.2017.1318198
851-0585-38LData Science in Techno-Socio-Economic Systems Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 80

This course is thought be for students in the 5th semester or above with quantitative skills and interests in modeling and computer simulations.

Particularly suitable for students of D-INFK, D-ITET, D-MAVT, D-MTEC, D-PHYS
W3 credits2VD. Helbing, N. Antulov-Fantulin, V. Vasiliauskaite
AbstractThis course introduces how techno-socio-economic systems in our complex society can be better understood with techniques and tools of data science. Students shall learn how the fundamentals of data science are used to give insights into the research of complexity science, computational social science, economics, finance, and others.
ObjectiveThe goal of this course is to qualify students with knowledge on data science to better understand techno-socio-economic systems in our complex societies. This course aims to make students capable of applying the most appropriate and effective techniques of data science under different application scenarios. The course aims to engage students in exciting state-of-the-art scientific tools, methods and techniques of data science.
In particular, lectures will be divided into research talks and tutorials. The course shall increase the awareness level of students of the importance of interdisciplinary research. Finally, students have the opportunity to develop their own data science skills based on a data challenge task, they have to solve, deliver and present at the end of the course.
ContentWill be provided on a separate course webpage.
Lecture notesSlides will be provided.
LiteratureGrus, Joel. "Data Science from Scratch: First Principles with Python". O'Reilly Media, 2019.
Link

"A high-bias, low-variance introduction to machine learning for physicists"
Link

Applications to Techno-Socio-Economic Systems:

"The hidden geometry of complex, network-driven contagion phenomena" (relevant for modeling pandemic spread)
Link

"A network framework of cultural history"
Link

"Science of science"
Link

"Generalized network dismantling"
Link

Further literature will be recommended in the lectures.
Prerequisites / NoticeGood programming skills and a good understanding of probability & statistics and calculus are expected.
851-0585-43LExperimental Game TheoryW2 credits2VA. Diekmann
AbstractThe course addresses principles and methods of experimental game theory. It focuses on experiments about social interaction, conflict and cooperation, emergence of cooperation and experimental validity of concepts for strategic behaviour in decision-making situations.
ObjectiveLearn the fundamentals and logic of thinking about experimental methods and experimental game theory. Apply experimental game theory methods to strategic interaction situations.
ContentDie Spieltheorie stellt Modelle zur Beschreibung und Analyse sozialer und strategischer Interaktionen zur Verfügung.
Schwerpunkt der Vorlesung sind experimentelle Studien und empirische Anwendungen der Theorie in verschiedenen Bereichen. Dazu zählen sozialtheoretische Analysen von Kooperation, des sozialen Austauschs, von Institutionen und Normen, sozialen Dilemmata und Reziprozität ebenso wie Anwendungen auf strategisches Verhalten in Politik und zwischen Staaten und Firmen, den Auswirkungen von Reziprozitätsnormen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt und einige Anwendungen in der Biologie. Experimentelle Studien zeigen allerdings, dass häufig die strikten Rationalitätsanforderungen der "Standardtheorie" nicht erfüllt sind. Unter dem Stichwort "Behavioural Game Theory" werden in der Vorlesung auch Theorievarianten vorgestellt, die mit den experimentellen Beobachtungen von Entscheidungen "begrenzt rationaler" Akteure besser im Einklang stehen.
Lecture notesFolien der Spieltheorie-Vorlesung und Literatur (Fachartikel, Kapitel aus Lehrbüchern) können auf der Webseite der Vorlesung eingesehen und heruntergeladen werden.
LiteratureKurzer Überblick in Kapitel 10 von Diekmann, Andreas, 2016. Spieltheorie. Einführung, Beispiele, Experimente. 4. Aufl. Reinbek: Rowohlt.
Ausführlich: John H. Kagel und Alvin E. Roth, Hg., 1995, Handbook of Experimental Economics. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
(Ein Handapparat dieser und weiterer Literatur wird in der D-GESS-Bibliothek bereitgestellt.)
Literatur zum Download befindet sich auch auf der Webseite:
Link
Prerequisites / NoticeInteresse am Thema und Motivation zur Mitarbeit.
851-0513-00LEconomic SociologyW2 credits2VT. Hinz
AbstractEconony and society are closely interconnected. The lecture presents classical and new sociological approaches to address the complex relationship between economic action and social structure. Issues of specific interest are: rational decision making, consumer behavior, social networks, state and economy, entrepreneurship and discrimination.
ObjectiveThe lecture gives an overview on the "new eonomic sociology". Students learn to analyze economic processes from a sociological point of view, e.g. the relevance of "embeddedness" into social networks for economic exchange.
ContentIn der Vorlesung Wirtschaftssoziologie soll das Verhältnis von Soziologie und Ökonomie theoretisch wie empirisch fruchtbar bearbeitet werden. Wir beschäftigen uns unter soziologischem Blickwinkel mit der Produktion, der Verteilung, dem Austausch und dem Verbrauch knapper Güter und Dienstleistungen. Austauschprozesse unterliegen strukturellen Rahmenbedingungen und Grenzen, sie bedürfen in vielen Situationen normativer Regelungen und einer unterstützenden institutionellen Umgebung. Eine Definition der Wirtschaftssoziologie könnte so lauten: Wirtschaftssoziologie umfasst alle Beobachtungen, Begriffe, Hypothesen, Gesetzmäßigkeiten und Erklärungsmodelle, die sich auf Zusammenhänge von ökonomischen und sozialen Sachverhalten und Prozessen beziehen. Arbeitsgebiete der Wirtschaftssoziologie sind beispielsweise die soziale Bedingtheit wirtschaftlicher Vorgänge, die Rückwirkung ökonomischer Prozesse für gesellschaftliche Strukturen, die sozialen Dimensionen und Verhaltensprämissen, Ähnlichkeiten und Unterschiede zwischen Gesellschaften bezüglich des wirtschaftlichen Geschehens und Zusammenhänge zwischen sozialem und ökonomischem Wandel.

Die Vorlesung behandelt zunächst knapp die makrosoziologischen Klassiker. Die Gründerväter der Soziologie haben wirtschaftlichem Handeln eine überragende Bedeutung für die Konstitution der Gesellschaft beigemessen – ob Marx, Simmel, Weber oder Durkheim. An der Schnittstelle von Soziologie und Ökonomie sind die Mikrotheorien von herausragender Bedeutung. Die Wirtschaftssoziologie ist ein ideales Terrain für Rational Choice Soziologie. Abweichungen vom Modell des Wettbewerbsmarktes und strikter Rationalität begründen in dieser Theorierichtung besonders interessante Analysen. Die Struktursoziologie (im Extremfall: „how people don't have any choices to make“) wird durch die Konzeption sozialer Netzwerke, in denen Austauschprozesse stattfinden, berücksichtigt. Auch das interpretative Paradigma der Mikrosoziologie kann auf Fragestellungen der Wirtschaftssoziologie („the making of markets“) angewandt werden.

Die Wirtschaftssoziologie versteht sich als empirisches Projekt. In der modernen Wirtschaftssoziologie finden sich eine Vielzahl von Analysen ökonomischer Institutionen, von Markt und Organisation, von Konsumverhalten, Firmennetzwerken und Schwarzmärkten.

Einen Überblick zu Theorien und Anwendungsgebieten der Wirtschaftssoziologie gibt das „Handbook of Economic Sociology“ herausgegeben von Richard Swedberg und Neil Smelser (inzwischen in zweiter Auflage erschienen). Die Vorlesung beruht auf einzelnen Beiträgen, ebenso werden eigene Studien vorgestellt.
Lecture notesPdf files (in German) will be available on ILIAS.
LiteratureAbraham, Martin/Hinz, Thomas (2008): Arbeitsmarktsoziologie. Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag (2. Auflage).

Braun, Norman/Keuschnigg, Marc/Wolbring, Tobias (2012) Wirtschaftssoziologie (2 Bände). München: Oldenbourg.

Smelser, Neil/Swedberg, Richard (Hrsg.) (2005) Handbook of Economic Sociology. Princeton: UP (2. Auflage).

Weitere Literatur wird zu Veranstaltungsbeginn bekannt gegeben.
Prerequisites / NoticeTeaching in German.
701-0712-00LUse and Perception of Nature Among Societies Outside Europe
Does not take place this semester.
W2 credits2V
AbstractViews of what we call "nature“" in traditional societies in Africa, Asia and Southern America are presented and discussed. In such subsistence-oriented ethnic groups "nature" is often perceived as being inhabited by gods and spirits. This view is often regarded as being irrational by natural science. But what are the impacts of such religious views on the sustainable use of natural resources?
ObjectiveThis lecture shall give an overview of worldviews of so called traditional societies in Africa, Asia and Southern America. The aim is to understand the way such societies view what we call nature or environment and their strategies to use natural resources. The lecure shall also provide a critical analysis of such processes based on concrete case studies, in which we will discuss problems of sustainable use of natrual resources and participatory processes in the governance of such resources.
ContentDie Studierenden werden dabei mit Vorstellungen und Ideologien von Natur konfrontiert, die sich nicht mit unserer Logik physisch-chemischer und biologischer Abläufe in der "Natur" decken, und die wir somit als "irrational" empfinden. Wir werden uns mit verschiedenen Konzepten aus dem Bereich der Religions-Ethnologie beschäftigen, die sich insbesondere im Bereich Magie, Hexerei und Orakelbefragung mit der "Rationalität" solcher Umweltvorstellungen auseinandersetzen. Seit der Beschäftigung mit der Ökosystemtheorie durch Roy Rappaport erhielt diese "wilde Denken" eine neue Funktion (Rappaport 1971, 1979). Es wurde in Zusammenhang eines gesamten Ökosystems analysiert, zu dessen Erhaltung und zu dessen Fliessgleichgewicht es diene. Diese Sichtweise, obwohl heftig kritisiert, ist von Bedeutung, weil mit der ökologischen Krise man in der industrialisierte Welt Ausschau nach neuen Konzepten hält. Diese werden teilweise in den uns fremden Bildern aussereuropäischer Völker von der "heiligen Natur" gesehen, welche uns als Lehre dienen und zu nachhaltiger Ressourcennutzung führen könnte. Zudem erscheinen die Umwelt-Bilder und Weltsichten dieser Gesellschaften (heute oftmals indigene Völker genannt) auf der praktischen Ebene als gelebter Naturschutz, den es insbesondere für die Konservierung von Biodiversität zu erhalten gilt. Heilige Orte sollen nun auch für den Schutz von beispielsweise Nationalparks oder Biosphärenreservaten dienen. In diesem Zusammenhang ist ein genauer Blick von Nöten, denn Fehlanalysen sind in diesem Bereich fatal und eine unkritische Instrumentalisierung magischer Weltsichten kontraproduktiv. Wo jedoch religiöse Weltsichten der Natur eine im Sinne der Nachhaltigkeit positive Rolle spielen können, ist der Bereich der Institutionen für das Ressourcenmanagement. Dieser Begriff wird hier im Sinne des Neuen Institutionalismus verwendet: Institutionen sind demnach Regeln, Werte und Normen, die das Handeln der Individuen beeinflussen und eine gewisse Sicherheit bezüglich dem erwarteten Verhalten der anderen Individuen einer Gemeinschaft bieten und dabei die sogenannten Transaktionskosten (Informationsbeschaffung bezüglich dem Verhalten anderer Akteure, Überwachung und Sanktionierung) reduzieren (North 1990. Ostrom 1990, Ensminger 1992). Dieser aus der Ökonomie beeinflusste Ansatz weist meines Erachtens interessante Elemente bezüglich der nachhaltigen Nutzung von Ressourcen auf, was sich bei der Nutzung von Kollektivressourcen (Com
Lecture notesZur Veranstaltung gibt es kein Script, aber es wird rechtzeitig ein Ordner mit der relevanten Literatur bereitgestellt. Am Thema Interessierte Studierende können sich bereits in folgenden zwei Büchern ins Thema einlesen:
- Berkes, Fikret. 1999. Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Resource Managment. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis.
- Haller, Tobias. 2001. Leere Speicher, erodierte Felder und das Bier der Frauen: Umweltanpassung und Krise bei den Ouldeme und Platha in den Mandarabergen Nord-Kameruns. Studien zur Sozialanthropologie. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag.
LiteratureBecker, Dustin, C. and Elinor Ostrom,.1995. Human Ecology and Resource Sustainability: The Importance of Institutional Diversity. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst.1995. No. 26:113-33.
Berkes, Fikret. 1999. Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Resource Managment. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis.
Dangwal, Parmesh. 1998. Van Gujjars at Apex of National Park Management. Indigenous Affairs No.4:24-31.
Diener, Paul and Robkin, Eugene E. 1978. Ecology, Evolution, and the Search for Cultural Origins: The Question of Islamic Pig Prohibition. In: Current Anthropology 19, No.3():493-540.
Diener, Paul, Nonini, Donald and Robkin, Eugene E. 1977/78. The Dialectics of the Sacred Cow: Ecological Adaptation versus Political Appropriation in the Origins of Indias Cattle Complex. In: Dialectical Anthropology (Amsterdam) 3: 221-241.
Evans-Pritchard, Edward E. 1978. Hexerei, Magie und Orakel bei den Zande. Frankfurt am Main:Suhrkamp.
Evans-Pritchard, Edward und Mayer Fortes. 1983. Afrikanische politische Systeme, in: Kramer, F. und Siegrist, Ch. eds. Gesellschaften ohne Staat. Frankfurt a. Main:Syndikat: 150-174.
Fairhead, James und Leach, Melissa. 1996. Misreading the African Landscape. Society and ecology in a forest-savanna mosaic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Freed, Stanley A. and Freed, Ruth, S. 1981.Sacred Cows and Water Buffalo in India: The Uses of Ethnography. In. Current Anthropology 22, No.5: 483-502.
Haller, Tobias. 1995.Raub der „Seelenschatten in Nord-Kamerun. Krankheit bei den Ouldeme und Platha in den Mandarabergen“. In: Keller, Frank-Beat (Hg.). Krank warum? Vorstellung der Völker, Heiler und Mediziner, Katalog zur gleichnamigen Ausstellung. Ostfildern: Cantz Verlag. pp.302-306.
Haller, Tobias. 2000. Bodendegradierung und Ernährungskrise bei den Ouldeme und Platha. Umwelt- und Ernährungsprobleme bei zwei Feldbauerngruppen in den Mandarabergen Nord-Kameruns: Eine Folge der Adaptation an Monetarisierung und Wandel traditioneller institutioneller Rahmenbedingungen. In: Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 124 (1999): 335–354.
Haller, Tobias. 2001. Leere Speicher, erodierte Felder und das Bier der Frauen: Umweltanpassung und Krise bei den Ouldeme und Platha in den Mandarabergen Nord-Kameruns. Studien zur Sozialanthropologie. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag.
Haller, Tobias. 2002a. „Spiel gegen Risiken in der ‘Natur’“, In: Giordano et al (Hrsg.). Ordnung, Risiko und Gefährdung. Reader des Blockseminars der Schweizerischen
Prerequisites / NoticeDie Veranstaltung beginnt in einem ersten Teil mit einer Reihe von Vorlesungen und wird in einem zweiten Teil mit Lesen und Diskutieren von Texten (Kurzvorträge von den Studierenden) fortgesetzt (nähere Erläuterungen und Programm am Anfang der Veranstaltung).
701-0729-00LSocial Research Methods Restricted registration - show details
Target group: students of BSc Environmental Sciences
W3 credits2GM. Stauffacher, A. Bearth, O. Ejderyan
AbstractThe aim of this course is to impart methodological principles of social science research and thus to stimulate a critical reflection of social science findings. The course provides an insight into the concrete approach and methods of guideline-based interview techniques and questionnaire research.
ObjectiveStudents are able to
- describe the significance of method-supported procedures in the social sciences.
- explain the basic principles of social-scientific research.
- critically interpret the results of social-scientific research .
- conduct small-scale interviews and surveys via questionnaires.
ContentAlle Teilnehmenden verpflichten sich zur aktiven Mitarbeit in Form von drei Übungen (leitfadengestütztes Interview, Erstellung von Fragebogen, Erhebung und Auswertung von Fragebogen).

Inhaltsübersicht:
(1) Wozu empirische (Sozial-)Forschung?
(2) Der Forschungsablauf im Überblick, verknüpfen von qualitativen und quantitativen Methoden
(3) Leitfadengestützte Interviews: erstellen Leitfaden, Durchführung und Auswertung
(4) Fragebogen: Hypothesen erarbeiten, Fragebogen erstellen, Durchführung, Daten auswerten, und Resultate darstellen
Lecture notesDie Dozierenden arbeiten mit Folien, die als Handout abgegeben werden.
LiteratureZur ergänzenden Begleitlektüre kann folgendes Buch empfohlen werden:
Bryman, A. (2012, 4th edition). Social research methods. New York: Oxford University Press.
701-0786-00LMediation in Environmental Planning: Theory and Case Studies.W2 credits2GK. Siegwart
AbstractThis course is intended to demonstrate how environmental decisions can be optimized and conflicts better dealt by using mediation. Case studies will focus on construction of windmills for electricity purpose, use of fracking, sustainable city-planning in the field of former industrial area or the establishment of a birds- or a forest-management plan.
Objective- Develop comprehension of legal and social responses to environmental conflicts
- Recognize the most important participative techniques and their ranges
- Develop concepts for doing and evaluating mediation processes
- Estimate the potential and limitations of cooperative environmental planning
- Train communicative skills (presentation, moderation, discussion design, negotiation), especially by participating at a mediation
ContentTo this end, we will look at the most important techniques of mediation and put them into the context of today's legislation, participation and conflict culture. The potential and limitations of the individual techniques will be discussed using current Swiss and international case studies, namely in the field of windenergy. Students can do conflict analyses, for instance, as part of individual and group analyses and a half-day mediation-simulation, develop technique concepts and train their own communicative and negotiation skills.
Lecture notesA reader will be handed out.
052-0704-00LSociology II Information W2 credits2VC. Schmid, I. Apostol, M. A. Glaser, L. B. Howe, M. Streule Ulloa Nieto
AbstractSociology II introduces current perspectives and methods on urban studies in the first and second part (Monika Streule and Lindsay Blair Howe). The third and fourth parts of the course discuss housing as social and cultural practice, and neighborhood life in the right to the city context (Marie Glaser and Ileana Apostol).
ObjectiveThis series of lectures enables students to comprehend the built environment in its social context. It approaches the architectural profession from two different angles: macro-sociological and micro-sociological.
ContentIn the first part, Sociology II focuses on current perspectives of analysis in urban studies. Theoretical approaches are presented with the help of concrete case studies. First, the postcolonial perspective in urban studies will be introduced, illustrated with examples of empirical research. This part concludes with an introduction into scientific research by presenting different methods in the analysis of urbanization processes in Mexico City, Tokyo and San Francisco (lecturer: Monika Streule). In the second part, transdisciplinary research initiatives and planning processes will be presented using examples from Sub-Saharan and East Africa (lecturer: Lindsay Blair Howe). In the third part, various models of housing are discussed (lecturer: Marie Glaser), and in the fourth part, urbanity and the quality of life in the neighborhood are placed in the right to the city context (lecturer: Ileana Apostol).
Lecture notesNo script - Information available at the following link: Link
LiteratureVarious texts, in addition to the lecture will be provided.
860-0024-00LDigital Society: Ethical, Societal and Economic Challenges Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants is limited to 30.
W3 credits2VD. Helbing, C. I. Hausladen
AbstractThis seminar will address ethical challenges coming along with new digital technologies such as cloud computing, Big Data, artificial
intelligence, cognitive computing, quantum computing, robots, drones, Internet of Things, virtual reality, blockchain technology, and more...
ObjectiveParticipants shall learn to understand that any technology implies not only opportunities, but also risks. It is important to understand these well in order to minimize the risks and maximize the benefits. In some cases, it is highly non-trivial to identify and avoid undesired side effects of technologies. The seminar will sharpen the attention how to design technologies for values,
also called value-sensitive design or ethically aligned design.
ContentWill be provided on a complementary website of the course.
Lecture notesWill be provided on a complementary website of the course.
LiteratureEthically Aligned Design
Version 1: Link
Version 2: Link

Value-Sensitive Design
Link

Handbook of Ethics, Values and Technological Design
Link

Thinking Ahead
Link

Towards Digital Enlightenment
Link

Künstliche Intelligenz und Maschinisierung des Menschen
Link

Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google, and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy (J Taplin)
Link

How Humans Judge Machines
Link

Further literature will be recommended in the lectures.
Prerequisites / NoticeTo earn credit points, students will have to read the relevant literature on one of the above technologies and give a
presentation about the ethical implications. Both, potential problems and possible solutions shall be carefully discussed.
860-0022-00LComplexity and Global Systems Science Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 50.

Prerequisites: solid mathematical skills.

Particularly suitable for students of D-ITET, D-MAVT and ISTP
W3 credits2SD. Helbing, S. Mahajan
AbstractThis course discusses complex techno-socio-economic systems, their counter-intuitive behaviors, and how their theoretical understanding empowers us to solve some long-standing problems that are currently bothering the world.
ObjectiveParticipants should learn to get an overview of the state of the art in the field, to present it in a well understandable way to an interdisciplinary scientific audience, to develop models for open problems, to analyze them, and to defend their results in response to critical questions. In essence, participants should improve their scientific skills and learn to think scientifically about complex dynamical systems.
ContentThis course starts with a discussion of the typical and often counter-intuitive features of complex dynamical systems such as self-organization, emergence, (sudden) phase transitions at "tipping points", multi-stability, systemic instability, deterministic chaos, and turbulence. It then discusses phenomena in networked systems such as feedback, side and cascading effects, and the problem of radical uncertainty. The course progresses by demonstrating the relevance of these properties for understanding societal and, at times, global-scale problems such as traffic jams, crowd disasters, breakdowns of cooperation, crime, conflict, social unrests, political revolutions, bubbles and crashes in financial markets, epidemic spreading, and/or "tragedies of the commons" such as environmental exploitation, overfishing, or climate change. Based on this understanding, the course points to possible ways of mitigating techno-socio-economic-environmental problems, and what data science may contribute to their solution.
Lecture notes"Social Self-Organization
Agent-Based Simulations and Experiments to Study Emergent Social Behavior"
Helbing, Dirk
ISBN 978-3-642-24004-1
LiteraturePhilip Ball
Why Society Is A Complex Matter
Link

Globally networked risks and how to respond
Nature: Link

Global Systems Science and Policy
Link

Managing Complexity: Insights, Concepts, Applications
Link

Further links:

Link

Link

Link

Link

Further literature will be recommended in the lectures.
Prerequisites / NoticeMathematical skills can be helpful
851-0586-02LThe Spectacles of MeasurementW3 credits2VU. Brandes
AbstractIf you can't measure it, you can't manage it. Explorations into mathematical foundations and societal implications of measuring humans, processes, and things in an increasingly datafied world.
ObjectiveStudents have a basic understanding of what makes a property quantifiable. They know the difference between operational and representational measurement, and the consequences this has for both, the collection of data and its use in decision making and control. With a critical attitude toward datafication, contextual differences are appreciated across domains such as science and engineering, business and entertainment, health and sports, governance and policy making.
ContentMeasurement Theory
- representations
- scales and meaningfulness
- direct vs. indirect
- conjoint measurement

Measurement Practice
- units and standards
- sensors and instruments
- items and questionnaires
- indices and datafication

Measurement Politics
- administration and coordination
- discrimination and behavior
- smart living
Lecture notesSlides made available in a course moodle.
Prerequisites / NoticeStudents pair up in teams to write an essay on a measurement problem they care about (such as one pertinent to their discipline or research). The essay is pitched to the others in the course during a poster session at the end of the semester (may have to be replaced with an online session in FS21).
851-0745-00LEthics Workshop: The Impact of Digital Life on Society Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 30.

Open to all Master level / PhD students.
W2 credits2SE. Vayena, A. Blasimme, C. Brall, F. Gille, M. Schneider, J. Sleigh
AbstractThis workshop focuses on understanding and managing the ethical and social issues arising from the integration of new technologies in various aspects of daily life.
ObjectiveExplain relevant concepts in ethics.
Evaluate the ethical dimensions of new technology uses.
Identify impacted stakeholders and who is ethically responsible.
Engage constructively in the public discourse relating to new technology impacts.
Review tools and resources currently available that facilitate resolutions and ethical practice
Work in a more ethically reflective way
ContentThe workshop offers students an experience that trains their ability for critical analysis and develops awareness of responsibilities as a researcher, consumer and citizen. Learning will occur in the context of three intensive workshop days, which are highly interactive and focus on the development and application of reasoning skills.

The workshop will begin with some fundamentals: the nature of ethics, of consent and big data, of AI ethics, public trust and health ethics. Students will then be introduced to key ethical concepts such as fairness, autonomy, trust, accountability, justice, as well different ways of reasoning about the ethics of digital technologies.

A range of practical problems and issues in the domains of education, news media, society, social media, digital health and justice will be then considered. These six domains are represented respectively by unique and interesting case studies. Each case study has been selected not only for its timely and engaging nature, but also for its relevance. Through the analysis of these case studies key ethical questions (such as fairness, accountability, explain-ability, access etc.) will be highlighted and questions of responsibility and tools for ethical practice will be explored. Throughout, the emphasis will be on learning to make sound arguments about the ethical aspects of policy, practice and research.
851-0585-48LControversies in Game Theory Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 100.
W3 credits2VD. Helbing, H. Nax, H. Rauhut
AbstractThe mini-course 'Controversies in Game Theory' consists of 5 course units that provide an in-depth introduction to issues in game theory motivated by real-world issues related to the tensions that may result from interactions in groups, where individual and collective interests may conflict. The course integrates theory from various disciplines.
ObjectiveStudents are encouraged to think about human interactions, and in particular in the context of game theory, in a way that is traditionally not covered in introductory game theory courses. The aim of the course is to teach students the complex conditional interdependencies in group interactions.
ContentThe course will pay special attention to the dichotomy of cooperative vs non-cooperative game theory through the lense of the pioneering work by John von Neumann (who—which is not very well known--was an undergraduate student at ETH Zurich). We will review the main solution concepts from both fields, work with applications relying on those, and look at the “Nash program” which is a famous attempt to bridge the two.
Lecture notesSlides will be provided.
LiteratureJohn v Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern. 1944. Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. (Link)

Diekmann, Andreas: Spieltheorie. Rowohlt 2009.

Dixit, Avinash K., and Susan Skeath. Games of Strategy. WW Norton & Company, 2015.

Ken Binmore (1992): Fun and Games. Lexington: Heath.

Camerer, Colin (2003): Behavioral Game Theory. Experiments in Strategic Interaction. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Game Theory Evolving
Link

Evolutionary Game Theory
Link

Evolutionary Game Theory in Natural, Social and Virtual Worlds
Link

Evolutionary Dynamics and Extensive Form Games
Link

Evolutionary Games and Population Dynamics
Link

Quantitative Sociodynamics
Link

Synergistic Selection: How Cooperation Has Shaped Evolution and the Rise of Humankind
Link

Survival of the Nicest
Link

Evolutionary Games with Sociophysics
Link

Statistical Physics and Computational Methods for Computational Game Theory
Link

Games of life
Link

Further literature will be recommended in the lectures.
Prerequisites / NoticeThis course is thought be for students in the 5th semester or above with quantitative skills and interests in modeling and computer simulation.
853-0051-01LMilitary Sociology II (without Exercises)W3 credits2VT. Szvircsev Tresch, S. De Rosa, T. Ferst
AbstractAddressing civil-military relations and the democratic control of armed forces. Highlighting the changes in the structures of European armed forces (technological, social and geostrategic changes). Examining the capability of society and military in Switzerland to maintain the militia principle.
Objective• To understand the development of defense structures in Europe due to social, technological, economic and geostrategic changes and to be able to identify the respective implications;
• to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of different systems of conscription;
• to understand the basic principles of exercising democratic control over armed forces;
• to be able to define the terms conscription and militia and to know the corresponding articles of the Federal Constitution;
• to be able to critically question the militia principle of the Swiss Armed Forces within the context of technological and social changes;
• to characterize the three different forms of cooperation in international military operations;
• to discuss technical research questions on the basis of individual research results or projects of the Department of Military Sociology.
ContentThe lecture "Military Sociology II" deals in detail with the question of why societies defend themselves against external threats. The lecture analyzes old and new wars, demonstrates tensions in civil-military relations and examines the influence of civil-democratic control of armed forces. It also provides an overview of current transformations of European armed forces (technological, social, economic, and geostrategic) and their influence on the acceptance and legitimation of the military in Western societies. This leads to the question of recruitment and manpower of armed forces and the societal need for alternative models of civic participation by the population. The lecture thus raises the pressing question of democratic control over societal areas which, due to socio-economic and technological developments, elude the traditional control mechanisms of Western societies. The course also addresses the aspect of diversity in the armed forces. Of organizational sociological interest is whether the armed forces constitute an organization like any other, or whether they represent a special case. Furthermore, the Swiss militia-type army is analyzed and the social prerequisites of maintaining the militia principle, as well as its limits for the Swiss Armed Forces are discussed.
Lecture notesA set of slides and supplementary literature will be provided for each lecture. The texts are accompanied by a set of questions which serve as exam preparation and will be partially discussed in the lecture.
LiteratureA selection of traditional as well as current texts will be distributed in the lecture.
Prerequisites / NoticeNone
851-0174-00LRebooting AI: Human and Social Aspects of Artificial Intelligence Restricted registration - show details
Suitable only for MA and PhD students
W3 credits2GJ. L. Gastaldi, O. Del Fabbro, A. Nardo, D. Trninic
AbstractSeveral researchers from the humanities will propose a critical yet not partisan approach to AI, aiming at elaborating a common perspective on this phenomenon. Sessions will delve into aspects of the way in which AI challenges our understanding of the human, such as “Knowledge”, “Learning”, “Language”, “Freedom” or “Justice”.
ObjectiveDuring the course, students will be able to:
-Discuss relevant aspects of the impact of AI in human and social life
-Obtain theoretical and methodological tools for critically assessing the place of technology in society
-Develop a critical understanding of the conceptual grounds of AI
-Acquire a general perspective on the different fields and points of views in the humanities
-Engage in collaborative work with researchers in the humanities
ContentThe last decades have witnessed a remarkable development in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Although mainly technical feat, such advances have decisive consequences in a wide variety of aspects of human and social life. Even more, AI is challenging in multiple ways our very understanding of what is to be a human. However, despite the significance of the transformations at stake, the perspectives of the humanities -traditionally established as a valid source of critical inquiry into human matters- are generally relegated to a secondary role in the development of AI.

In this seminar, several researchers from the humanities will propose a critical yet not partisan approach to AI, aiming at elaborating a common perspective which could be taken as a legitimate interlocutor in the debates arising around the current stakes of technology in our society. The seminar will take the form of presentations based on critical readings of chosen texts, followed by group discussions. Each session will delve into one aspect of the way in which AI challenges our understanding of the human, such as “Knowledge”, “Learning”, “Language”, “Freedom” or “Justice”, confronting how they are dealt with in state-of-the-art texts in AI and relevant works in the humanities.

We expect students from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and other fields outside the humanities to actively contribute to a collective construction, which could lead to further collaboration within but also outside this course.

As part of the Turing Centre, this seminar intends to sow the seed of a suitable and long-term environment for the exchange of ideas between multiple fields in the natural sciences and the humanities.

The seminar will be conducted by Olivier Del Frabbro, Juan Luis Gastaldi, Aline Nardo, Vanessa Rampton and Dragan Trninic.
Prerequisites / NoticeSuitable only for MA and PhD students
851-0252-19LApplied Generalized Linear ModelsW3 credits2VV. Amati
AbstractGeneralized linear models are a class of models for the analysis of multivariate datasets. This class subsumes linear models for quantitative response, binomial models for binary response, loglinear models for categorical data, Poisson models for count data. Models are presented and practised from a problem-oriented perspective.
ObjectiveThe course has a strong focus on the application of GLMs in the social, economic and behavioural sciences. Through the presentation and discussion of case studies and the analysis of a variety of data sets (e.g., demographic, social and economic data) using the software R, students will reflect on

1. the social phenomena and the research questions that can be investigated with GLMs

2. the theoretical and practical considerations that must be taken into account to apply GLMs in a rigorous way.

By doing this, students will take away a broader perspective on the standard and unique challenges that the application of GLMs entails.
ContentThe following topics will be covered:

* Introduction to generalized linear models
* The general linear model: ANOVA and ANCOVA
* Models for binary outcomes: logistic regression and probit models
* Models for nominal outcomes: multinomial logistic regression and related models
* Models for ordinal outcomes: ordered logistic regression and probit models
* Models for count outcomes: Poisson and negative binomial models
Lecture notesLecture notes are distributed via the associated course moodle.
Literature* Fox, John. (2016). Applied regression analysis and generalized linear models (Third ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE.
* Fox, John, & Weisberg, Sanford. (2019). An R companion to applied regression (Third ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE.
* Hosmer, David W, Lemeshow, Stanley, & Sturdivant, Rodney X. (2013). Applied logistic regression. Hoboken: Wiley.
* Long, J. Scott. (1997). Regression models for categorical and limited dependent variables. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
Prerequisites / NoticeA sound understanding of estimation methods, hypothesis testing and linear regression models (OLS) is required
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