Search result: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2021

GESS Science in Perspective Information
Only the topics listed in this paragraph can be chosen as GESS Science in Perspective.
Further below you will find the "type B courses Reflections about subject specific methods and content" as well as the language courses.

6 ECTS need to be acquired during the BA and 2 ECTS during the MA

Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again.
Type B: Reflection About Subject-Specific Methods and Contents
Subject-specific courses: Recommended for doctoral, master and bachelor students (after first-year examination only).

Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again.

These course units are also listed under "Type A", which basically means all students can enroll
D-MTEC
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
851-0252-10LProject in Behavioural Finance Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 40

Particularly suitable for students of D-MTEC
W3 credits2SS. Andraszewicz, C. Hölscher, A. C. Roberts
AbstractIn this seminar, students will study cognitive processes, behaviour and the underlying biological response to financial decisions. Research methods such as asset market experiments, lottery games, risk preference assessment, psychometrics, neuroimaging and psychophysiology of decision processes will be discussed. Financial bubbles and crashes will be the core interest.
Learning objectiveThis course has four main goals:
1) To learn about the most important topics within Behavioural Finance
2) To learn how to conduct behavioural studies, design experiments, plan data collection and experimental tasks
3) To learn about causes of market crashes, factors that influence them, traders' behaviour before, during and after financial crises
4) To investigate a topic of interest, related to behaviour of traders during market crashes.

Additionally, the course gives to the students the opportunity to practice oral presentations, communication skills, report writing and critical thinking.
ContentThe course provides an overview of the most important topics in Behavioural Finance. First part of the course involves reading scientific articles, which will be discussed during the seminar. Therefore, attendance is required to pass the course. Each week, a student volunteer will present a paper and the presentation will be followed by a discussion. After obtaining sufficient knowledge of the field, students will select a topic for a behavioural study of their own. The final assignment consists of preparing and conducting a small behavioural study/experiment, analysing the data and presenting the project in the final meeting of the class. Each student will write a scientific report of their study.
851-0738-00LIntellectual Property: Introduction
Particularly suitable for students of D-CHAB, D-INFK, D-ITET, D-MAVT, D- MATL, D-MTEC
W2 credits2VM. Schweizer
AbstractThe course provides an introduction to Swiss and European intellectual property law (trademarks, copyright, patent and design rights). Aspects of competition law are treated insofar as they are relevant for the protection of intellectual creations and source designations. The legal principles are developed based on current cases.
Learning objectiveThe aim of this course is to enable students at ETH Zurich to recognize which rights may protect their creations, and which rights may be infringed as a result of their activities. Students should learn to assess the risks and opportunities of intellectual property rights in the development and marketing of new products. To put them in this position, they need to know the prerequisites and scope of protection afforded by the various intellectual property rights as well as the practical difficulties involved in the enforcement of intellectual property rights. This knowledge is imparted based on current rulings and cases.

Another goal is to enable the students to participate in the current debate over the goals and desirability of protecting intellectual creations, particularly in the areas of copyright (keywords: fair use, Creative Commons, Copyleft) and patent law (software patents, patent trolls, patent thickets).
363-0565-00LPrinciples of MacroeconomicsW3 credits2VJ.‑E. Sturm
AbstractThis course examines the behaviour of macroeconomic variables, such as gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation rates. It tries to answer questions like: How can we explain fluctuations of national economic activity? What can economic policy do against unemployment and inflation?
Learning objectiveThis lecture will introduce the fundamentals of macroeconomic theory and explain their relevance to every-day economic problems.
ContentThis course helps you understand the world in which you live. There are many questions about the macroeconomy that might spark your curiosity. Why are living standards so meagre in many African countries? Why do some countries have high rates of inflation while others have stable prices? Why have some European countries adopted a common currency? These are just a few of the questions that this course will help you answer.
Furthermore, this course will give you a better understanding of the potential and limits of economic policy. As a voter, you help choose the policies that guide the allocation of society's resources. When deciding which policies to support, you may find yourself asking various questions about economics. What are the burdens associated with alternative forms of taxation? What are the effects of free trade with other countries? How does the government budget deficit affect the economy? These and similar questions are always on the minds of policy makers.
Lecture notesThe course webpage (to be found at https://moodle-app2.let.ethz.ch/course/view.php?id=15062) contains announcements, course information and lecture slides.
LiteratureThe set-up of the course will closely follow the book of
N. Gregory Mankiw and Mark P. Taylor (2020), Economics, Cengage Learning, Fifth Edition.

This book can also be used for the course '363-0503-00L Principles of Microeconomics' (Filippini).

Besides this textbook, the slides, lecture notes and problem sets will cover the content of the lecture and the exam questions.
CompetenciesCompetencies
Subject-specific CompetenciesConcepts and Theoriesassessed
Techniques and Technologiesfostered
Method-specific CompetenciesAnalytical Competenciesassessed
Decision-makingfostered
Media and Digital Technologiesfostered
Problem-solvingassessed
Project Managementfostered
Social CompetenciesCommunicationfostered
Cooperation and Teamworkfostered
Customer Orientationfostered
Leadership and Responsibilityfostered
Self-presentation and Social Influence assessed
Sensitivity to Diversityfostered
Negotiationfostered
Personal CompetenciesAdaptability and Flexibilityfostered
Creative Thinkingfostered
Critical Thinkingassessed
Integrity and Work Ethicsfostered
Self-awareness and Self-reflection fostered
Self-direction and Self-management fostered
363-0503-00LPrinciples of Microeconomics
GESS (Science in Perspective): This lecture is for MSc students only. BSc students register for 363-1109-00L Einführung in die Mikroökonomie.
W3 credits2GM. Filippini
AbstractThe course introduces basic principles, problems and approaches of microeconomics. This provides the students with reflective and contextual knowledge on how societies use scarce resources to produce goods and services and ensure a (fair) distribution.
Learning objectiveThe learning objectives of the course are:

(1) Students must be able to discuss basic principles, problems and approaches in microeconomics. (2) Students can analyse and explain simple economic principles in a market using supply and demand graphs. (3) Students can contrast different market structures and describe firm and consumer behaviour. (4) Students can identify market failures such as externalities related to market activities and illustrate how these affect the economy as a whole. (5) Students can also recognize behavioural failures within a market and discuss basic concepts related to behavioural economics. (6) Students can apply simple mathematical concepts on economic problems.
ContentThe resources on our planet are finite. The discipline of microeconomics therefore deals with the question of how society can use scarce resources to produce goods and services and ensure a (fair) distribution. In particular, microeconomics deals with the behaviour of consumers and firms in different market forms. Economic considerations and discussions are not part of classical engineering and science study programme. Thus, the goal of the lecture "Principles of Microeconomics" is to teach students how economic thinking and argumentation works. The course should help the students to look at the contents of their own studies from a different perspective and to be able to critically reflect on economic problems discussed in the society.

Topics covered by the course are:

- Supply and demand
- Consumer demand: neoclassical and behavioural perspective
- Cost of production: neoclassical and behavioural perspective
- Welfare economics, deadweight losses
- Governmental policies
- Market failures, common resources and public goods
- Public sector, tax system
- Market forms (competitive, monopolistic, monopolistic competitive, oligopolistic)
- International trade
Lecture notesLecture notes, exercises and reference material can be downloaded from Moodle.
LiteratureN. Gregory Mankiw and Mark P. Taylor (2020), "Economics", 5th edition, South-Western Cengage Learning.
The book can also be used for the course 'Principles of Macroeconomics' (Sturm)

For students taking only the course 'Principles of Microeconomics' there is a shorter version of the same book:
N. Gregory Mankiw and Mark P. Taylor (2020), "Microeconomics", 5th edition, South-Western Cengage Learning.

Complementary:
R. Pindyck and D. Rubinfeld (2018), "Microeconomics", 9th edition, Pearson Education.
Prerequisites / NoticeGESS (Science in Perspective): This lecture is for MSc students only. BSc students register for 363-1109-00L Einführung in die Mikroökonomie.
CompetenciesCompetencies
Subject-specific CompetenciesConcepts and Theoriesassessed
Techniques and Technologiesfostered
Method-specific CompetenciesAnalytical Competenciesassessed
Decision-makingassessed
Media and Digital Technologiesfostered
Problem-solvingassessed
Project Managementfostered
Social CompetenciesCommunicationfostered
Cooperation and Teamworkfostered
Customer Orientationfostered
Leadership and Responsibilityfostered
Self-presentation and Social Influence assessed
Sensitivity to Diversityfostered
Negotiationfostered
Personal CompetenciesAdaptability and Flexibilityfostered
Creative Thinkingfostered
Critical Thinkingassessed
Integrity and Work Ethicsfostered
Self-awareness and Self-reflection assessed
Self-direction and Self-management fostered
363-1109-00LIntroduction to Microeconomics
GESS (Science in Perspective):
This course is only for students enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree programme.

Students enrolled in a Master’s degree programme may attend “Principles of Microeconomics” (LE 363-0503-00L) instead.

Note for D-MAVT students: If you have already successfully completed “Principles of Microeconomics” (LE 363-0503-00L), then you will not be permitted to attend it again.
W3 credits2GM. Wörter, M. Beck
AbstractThe course introduces basic principles, problems and approaches of microeconomics. It describes economic decisions of households and firms, and their coordination through perfectly competitive markets.
Learning objectiveStudents acquire a deeper understanding of basic microeconomic models.

They acquire the ability to apply these models in the interpretation of real world economic contexts.

Students acquire a reflective and contextual knowledge on how societies use scarce resources to produce goods and services and distribute them among themselves.
ContentMarket, budget constraint, preferences, utility function, utility maximisation, demand, technology, profit function, cost minimisation, cost functions, perfect competition, information and communication technologies
Lecture notesCourse material in e-learning environment https://moodle-app2.let.ethz.ch/auth/shibboleth/login.php
LiteratureVarian, Hal R. (2014), Intermediate Microeconomics, W.W. Norton
Prerequisites / NoticeThis course "Einführung in die Mikroökonomie“ (363-1109-00L) is intended for Bachelor students and LE 363-0503-00 "Principles of Microeconomics" for Master students.
CompetenciesCompetencies
Subject-specific CompetenciesConcepts and Theoriesassessed
Techniques and Technologiesassessed
Method-specific CompetenciesAnalytical Competenciesassessed
Decision-makingassessed
Media and Digital Technologiesfostered
Problem-solvingfostered
Project Managementfostered
Social CompetenciesCommunicationfostered
Cooperation and Teamworkfostered
Customer Orientationfostered
Leadership and Responsibilityfostered
Self-presentation and Social Influence fostered
Sensitivity to Diversityfostered
Negotiationfostered
Personal CompetenciesAdaptability and Flexibilityfostered
Creative Thinkingfostered
Critical Thinkingassessed
Integrity and Work Ethicsfostered
Self-awareness and Self-reflection fostered
Self-direction and Self-management fostered
363-1044-00LApplied Negotiation Seminar Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 30.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of lectures "363-1039-00L Introduction to Negotiation".
W3 credits2SA. Knobel
AbstractThe block-seminar combines lectures introducing negotiation and negotiation engineering with the respective application through in-class negotiation case studies and games.
Learning objectiveIn this seminar students can expect to:

• learn more theory of negotiation and apply this learning in simulated negotiations
• have their perceptions of rationality, fairness and trust challenged through little embedded experiments
• learn to recognize and analyze negotiation contexts and interests and generate creative solutions
• learn to negotiate under pressure (with time and mandate restrictions) and experience (and potentially chair) a formal negotiation
• learn to read, analyze and present a scholarly paper
ContentThis block seminar is an extension of the course "Introduction to Negotiation" and provides more detailed insight into key aspects of the field of negotiation and negotiation engineering.

In particular,

• a series of brief lectures will outline foundational aspects of negotiation science, such as rationality, fairness, and trust, as well as the possible application of machine learning in negotiation
• three practitioners will describe lessons learnt in their negotiation domains (diplomacy, labor, and business) and allow time for Q&A and discussion
• Professor Ambühl will elucidate further current cases from his professional experience
• students will apply course input in a number of challenging simulations (ranging from simple 30 minute games to full-fledged international ten party negotiations). In each game they will be asked to represent a party and negotiate as skillfully as they possibly can within the constraints of their mandate
• each student will be assigned a scholarly paper (20 to 30 pages) between the two blocks to read. They will give a 20 minute group presentation with one or two of their peers and submit a brief reflection report after the seminar

The course size is deliberately limited (30 maximum) to enable ample opportunity to interact with the lecturers, guests and each other.
851-0742-00LContract Design I Restricted registration - show details
This course is taught by Professor Alexander Stremitzer (https://laweconbusiness.ethz.ch/group/professor/stremitzer.html). Note that this is NOT a legal drafting class that focuses on contractual language. Instead, in Contact Design I, you will learn what the content of a contract should be so that parties can reach their goals.

You can find all course materials and the most recent announcements on Moodle. Please log in to Moodle using your ETH or UZH credentials. Then search for "Contract Design I (851-0742-00L; Fall 2021)" and enroll. The password is "ContractDesign01".

Number of participants limited to 160.
Max 80 ETHZ and 80 UZH Students
W3 credits2VA. Stremitzer
AbstractContract Design I aims to bridge the gap between economic contract theory, contract law, and the writing of real-world contracts. In this course, we take a systematic approach to contract design. This means we first analyze the economic environment in which a transaction takes place, and then engineer contracts that achieve the desired outcome.
Learning objectiveContracts are agreements between parties to engage in transactions. A good contract creates value by giving parties the right incentives to meet their objectives. A good contract designer scrutinizes the economic situation in which parties find themselves and tailors the contract to the challenges at hand. To help you become sophisticated contract designers, we draw from insights, for which more than half a dozen Nobel Prizes were awarded in the past two decades, and transfer them to the art of writing real-world contracts. In other words, Contract Design I will provide you with analytical tools related to contracting that are invaluable to successful lawyers, business leaders, and startup founders.

In Contract Design I, you will be asked to watch a series of videos (10-15 minutes each) that we produced for this course. These video episodes introduce you to key concepts of economic, behavioral, and experimental contract theory. We will cover topics such as moral hazard, adverse selection, elicitation mechanisms, relationship-specific investments, and relational contracting. You can find the welcome video at this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvIdfG70zq0). However, this course prioritizes applications of contract design. Therefore, we will use class time to discuss a selection of exciting real-world case studies, ranging from purchases & sales of assets, oil & gas exploration, movie production & distribution, construction & development, M&A deals, to executive compensation and many other types of transactions.

ETH students: Your final grade will consist of two components: 1) You are required to take weekly computer-based quizzes during class time. Thus, it is imperative that you attend the lectures to be able to finish the quizzes and pass this course. Moreover, we regularly post questions regarding the case studies that we examine in class. 2) You have to compose short responses to these questions and upload them. Note that UZH students enrolling in this course earn more ECTS on completing this course than ETH students. This is because UZH students must hand in an extensive group project in addition to the weekly quizzes and short responses.
Lecture notesHandouts, prerecorded videos, slides, and other materials
Prerequisites / NoticeContract Design I is available to ETH students through the Science in Perspective (SiP) Program of D-GESS. This course is particularly suitable for students of D-ARCH, D-BAUG, D-CHAB, DMATH, D-MTEC, D-INFK, and D-MAVT. If you have any questions on Contract Design I, please send an e-mail to Professor Stremitzer’s Teaching Assistant Diego Caldera (diegoalberto.calderaherrera@uzh.ch).
851-0732-06LLaw & Tech Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 30.
W3 credits3SA. Stremitzer, J. Merane, A. Nielsen
AbstractThis course introduces students to legal, economic, and social perspectives on the increasing
economic and social importance of technology. We focus particularly on the challenges to current
law posed by the increasing rate of tech innovation and adoption generally and also by case-specific
features of prominent near-future technologies.
Learning objectiveThe course is intended for a wide range of engineering students, from machine learning to
bioengineering to human computer interaction, as well as for law students interested in acquiring a
better understanding of state-of-the-art technology.

The course will combine both an overview of major areas of law that affect the regulation of
technology and also guest lectures on the state-of-the art in a variety of important technologies,
ranging from autonomous vehicles to fair artificial intelligence to consumer-facing DNA technologies.

The course is open to ETH students through the Science in Perspective program of the Department
of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences.
ContentThe planned course outline is below

1. Overview of science, law, and technology
a. Studies of law and technology
b. Should science be regulated, and if so, how?
c. Technology as a social problem

2. Designing technology for humans
a. Attention fiduciaries and the digital environment
b. Does technology weaponize known problems of bounded human rationality?
c. Should technology be regulated as a psychotropic substance? An addictive
substance?
d. Can technology make life easier?
e. Psychological effects of surveillance

3. Governing tech
a. Can small governments regulate big tech?
b. National and supranational legislation
c. Enforcing the law with technology
d. Can enforcement be baked into technology?

4. AI and fairness
a. Discrimination
b. Privacy
c. Opacity
d. AI and due process

5. Trade secret and technological litigation
a. Trade secret is a long-standing tool for litigation but does it enjoy too much
deference?
b. Trade secrets and the rights of employes

6. Enforcement against tech
a. Big tech and antitrust
b. Consumer protection

7. The Digital Battlefield
a. Technology for spying
b. Spying on technology companies
c. Race to be AI superpower
d. Immigration policy

8. Contract law
a. Smart contracts
b. Modernizing contract law and practice
c. Regulating cryptocurrencies

9. Tort law
a. Applying existing tort law to new autonomous technologies
b. Personhood and personal responsibility
c. Victim entitlements

10. Self-driving cars and other autonomous robotics
a. Legal regimes
b. Diversity in morality judgements related to autonomous vehicles

11. Biometrics
a. Widespread use of facial recognition
b. Law enforcement
c. Connecting biometrics to social data
d. Solving crimes with biometrics

12. New Biology and Medicine
a. Unregulated science (biohackers)
b. Promising technology before it can be delivered
c. Connecting medicine to social data
d. Using technology to circumvent medical regulations
851-0760-00LBuilding a Robot Judge: Data Science for Decision-Making
Particularly suitable for students of D-INFK, D-ITET, D-MTEC
W3 credits2VE. Ash
AbstractThis course explores the automation of decisions in the legal system. We delve into the machine learning tools needed to predict judge decision-making and ask whether techniques in model explanation and algorithmic fairness are sufficient to address the potential risks.
Learning objectiveThis course introduces students to the data science tools that may provide the first building blocks for a robot judge. While building a working robot judge might be far off in the future, some of the building blocks are already here, and we will put them to work.
ContentData science technologies have the potential to improve legal decisions by making them more efficient and consistent. On the other hand, there are serious risks that automated systems could replicate or amplify existing legal biases and rigidities. Given the stakes, these technologies force us to think carefully about notions of fairness and justice and how they should be applied.

The focus is on legal prediction problems. Given the evidence and briefs in this case, how will a judge probably decide? How likely is a criminal defendant to commit another crime? How much additional revenue will this new tax law collect? Students will investigate and implement the relevant machine learning tools for making these types of predictions, including regression, classification, and deep neural networks models.

We then use these predictions to better understand the operation of the legal system. Under what conditions do judges tend to make errors? Against which types of defendants do parole boards exhibit bias? Which jurisdictions have the most tax loopholes? Students will be introduced to emerging applied research in this vein. In a semester paper, students (individually or in groups) will conceive and implement an applied data-science research project.
851-0761-00LBuilding a Robot Judge: Data Science for Decision-Making (Course Project)
This is the optional course project for "Building a Robot Judge: Data Science for the Law."

Please register only if attending the lecture course or with consent of the instructor.

Some programming experience in Python is required, and some experience with text mining is highly recommended.
W2 credits2VE. Ash
AbstractStudents investigate and implement the relevant machine learning tools for making legal predictions, including regression, classification, and deep neural networks models. This is the extra credit for a larger course project for the course.
Learning objectiveIn a semester paper, students (individually or in groups) will conceive and implement their own research project applying natural language tools to legal texts. Some programming experience in Python is required, and some experience with NLP is highly recommended.
ContentStudents will investigate and implement the relevant machine learning tools for making legal predictions, including regression, classification, and deep neural networks models.
We will use these predictions to better understand the operation of the legal system. In a semester project, student groups will conceive and implement a research design for examining this type of empirical research question.
851-0650-00LAI4Good Restricted registration - show details W3 credits2GJ. D. Wegner
AbstractThe AI4Good course is a hackathon turned into a full course. At the beginning, stakeholders active in the development sector will describe several problems that could be solved with a machine learning approach. Students will spend the semester on designing, implementing, and testing suitable solutions using machine learning. Progress will be discussed with all course members.
Learning objectiveGiven a specific problem in global development, students shall learn to self-responsibly design, implement and experimentally evaluate a suitable solution. Students will also learn to critically evaluate their ideas and solutions together with all course members in a broader context that go beyond mere technical solutions, but touch on ethics, local culture etc., too.
ContentThe AI4Good course is a hackathon turned into a full course. At the beginning of the course, stakeholders (e.g., NGOs) active in the development sector will describe several problems that could be solved with a machine learning approach. Organizers of the course will make sure that only those problems are selected that are suitable for a machine learning approach and where sufficient amounts of data (and labels) are available. Students will organize themselves into small groups of 3-5 students, where each group works on solving a specific problem. Students will spend the semester on designing, implementing, and testing suitable solutions using machine learning. Every two weeks, each group will present ideas and progress during a short presentation followed by a discussion with all course members. At the end of the course, students will present their final results and submit source code. In addition, they will describe the developed method in form of a scientific paper of 8 pages. Grading will depend on the source code, the paper, and active participation in class.

Note: The course AI4Good is not related to Hack4Good, which is a students' initiative organized by the Analytics Club at ETH. For more information about Hack4Good check out the website: https://analytics-club.org/wordpress/hack4good/.
Prerequisites / NoticeStudents with a strong background in machine learning and excellent programming skills (preferably in Python)
851-0742-01LContract Design II Restricted registration - show details
This course is taught by Professor Alexander Stremitzer (https://lawecon.ethz.ch/group/professors/stremitzer.html). To be considered for Contract Design II, you must have completed Contract Design I in the same semester. Students can only register for Contract Design II after having obtained approval by Prof. Stremitzer.
W1 credit1UA. Stremitzer
AbstractContract Design II is a masterclass in the form of an interactive clinic that allows you to deepen your understanding of contracting by applying insights from Contract Design I to a comprehensive case study. Together with your classmates, you are going to advise a (hypothetical) client organization planning to enter a complex transaction on how to structure the underlying contract.
Learning objectiveThere is a possibility that representatives from companies that were previously engaged in similar deals will visit us in class and tell you about their experience firsthand. In Contract Design I, you will receive more detailed information on the content and learning objectives of Contract Design II. If you have urgent questions, please do not hesitate to send an e-mail to Professor Stremitzer’s Teaching Assistant Diego Caldera (diegoalberto.calderaherrera@uzh.ch).
Prerequisites / NoticeTo enable you to work under the close supervision of your professor and his team, only a small group of students with backgrounds in law, business, or engineering is admitted to this course. This simulation is time-consuming and challenging. Hence, we can only admit the most successful and motivated students to this class. Further information on the application process will follow.
851-0101-80LBasic Problems of Environmental EthicsW3 credits2GL. Wingert
AbstractClimate change exerts a pressure on us to significantly change our individual and collective behaviour. Such a pressure raises questions like: Who has to give up what? What is a fair distributions of the burdens in the struggle against the cllimate change? What is the reasonable understanding of our relation to nature? How should we run our economies?
Learning objectiveParticipants should become familiar with basic approaches to central problems in environmental ethics.

The course will try to give an argument-based answer to the question: What are the responsibilities for individuals (e.g. as consumers), and for collectivities (e.g. states and firms).

Another focus will be to clarify the concept of "climate justice".

The course should also enable participants to evaluate different answers to the question how we should organize our economies for securing our ecological niche.
LiteraturePreparatory Literature

1. Dieter Birnbacher, Klimaethik, Stuttgart: Reclam 2016.

2. John Broome, Climate Matters, New York/London: Norton 2012.

3. Stephen M. Gardiner, A Perfect Moral Storm. The Tragedy of Climate Change, Oxford: University Press 2015.

4. Naomi Klein, Die Entscheidung: Kapitalismus vs Klima, Frankfurt/M.: Fischer 2016.
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