Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
21st Century
2017-18
Elective Programme
What are electives?
Our elective programme, Modules for the 21st Century, offers you the opportunity to
study a module outside your core programme. Our electives have been designed
to broaden your educational experience, deepen your knowledge of the physical
and social world and enhance your critical and academic skills. All students are
expected to take one elective each year during their first two years of their degree.
In order to help you choose your elective, this booklet contains a module descrip-
tor for each elective. These module descriptors provide a brief description of the
elective, outlining the content, workload and the mode of assessment. If you have
difficulty choosing which elective to take remember you will also have the opportu-
nity to take one next year.
Prohibited Programmes
While many electives are open to all students, some electives are not available to
students on particular programmes where the elective and programme content
overlap too closely.
Elective Descriptors
ELE001: How big is infinity? Getting to grips with how we know what we know
Brief Description: This module attempts to tackle two big questions: How do we
know what we know? How sure are we that we know it? These questions underpin
much of our technically-reliant society, and yet some of what we know seems
to contradict common sense or experience. The module will present several of
these current big ideas - concepts that capture the imagination yet which can be
explained without recourse to specialist or technical language - and use these to
illustrate and explain the process of scientific and technical progress.
Aim: The aim of this Module is to provide the student with an understanding of
systematic methods of enquiry, with a particular focus on the philosophy of science,
and to develop key skills in presentation, critical thinking, reasoning and modes of
enquiry.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Identify and describe different kinds of knowledge and the mechanisms that
we use to develop these.
2. Describe and discuss key issues in the philosophy of science.
3. Discuss and evaluate key arguments surrounding the philosophy of science.
4. Present and defend independent views about scientific enquiry and how it
relates to established ideas and beliefs.
ELE002: Games for Change
Prohibited Programmes: BSc (Hons) Computer Game Applications Development;
BSc (Hons) Computer Games Technology; BA (Hons) Game Design and Production
Management; BA (Hons) Computer Arts; BA (Hons) Management and the Games
Industry.
Brief Description: The module will provide the opportunity to work in teams in
order to develop game design concepts for serious applications.
Aim: The aim of this Module is to provide the student with: the knowledge,
processes and techniques of game design and study examples of serious games
that have been developed to benefit society.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Critically analyse texts and applications in a variety of media.
2. Work collaboratively with peers to analyse and critique their own and others ideas.
3. Undertake interdisciplinary team work, accountability, and communication.
4. Facilitate the exchange of knowledge and ideas across disciplines in order to
develop creative solutions to complex problems.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Outline and discuss the complex relationship between society and the environment.
2. Describe the principles and characteristics of sustainable development and
appreciate how they relate to specific study disciplines.
3. Describe the social and cultural nuances of recent political and social change
as regards sustainable development and global agreements thereof.
4. Recognise and critically evaluate the social, technological and natural aspects
of a range of environmental issues.
5. Reflect on personal modes of practice and knowledge attainment in line with
sustainable lifestyles and sustainable futures.
6. An appreciation of local innovation as regards global transformation.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Exhibit an ability to analyse, evaluate, debate, and communicate knowledge
from competing intellectual perspectives.
2. Demonstrate organisation, self-management and scholarship skills by using
information technology to access relevant sources and complete assessments
for set deadlines.
3. Show evidence of collaboration and discursive review of written work with
student peers.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Understand some of basic structural elements of the production process of both
genre types, considering points of similarity and convergence as well as difference.
2. Understand video games using theories from sociology, cultural and media
studies, film and games studies.
3. Appreciate narrative dynamics and spectacular cinema through the appreciation
of key distinctive genre films, focusing on epic fantasy, crime/thriller and horror,
and war films.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Describe the ontological and anthropological characteristics of games and play.
2. Describe various games using a range of analytical methods.
3. Articulate the characteristics of gameplay experience for different types of players.
4. Discuss patterns of historical change in games and play.
5. Produce a scholarly paper appropriate to level, reflecting original research and
reflection.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Appreciate the social and managerial challenges and opportunities associated
with renewable energy.
2. Understand the economic and political challenges and benefit of renewable energy.
3. Develop an understanding of technological opportunities and innovation challenges
of renewable energy by an overview of renewable Energy Technologies and
associated processes: Wind, wave, solar, heat pumps, hydro-electric, waste to
energy systems and bio-based solutions.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Understand key concepts and processes in decision making, analysis, and support.
2. Structure decision problems, elicit preferences and priorities.
3. Analyse, interpret and use different datasets, and evaluate real data problems.
4. Perform basic decision analysis.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Demonstrate broad knowledge of the context in which particular laws operate.
2. Explain the fundamental principles applicable to the areas of study and the
remedies available to consumers and citizens.
3. Apply the main principles of law in context to the areas of study and apply the
appropriate remedies.
4. Demonstrate basic skills of legal research and legal reasoning.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Understand the terms inclusiveness, equal opportunities, positive action and
reasonable adjustment.
2. Discern the ethical issues within personal and professional decisions.
3. Identify and utilise fundamental evidence-based ethical arguments detailing
considerations which individuals/organisations need to make.
4. Reflect on how knowledge and insight into equality and ethics issues will
inform their engagement with individuals and organisations.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Explain the key concepts of sociolinguistic study.
2. Identify key aspects of particular genres and discourse communities.
3. Critically evaluate texts in terms of their successful use of these identifying aspects.
4. Work collaboratively with peers to analyse and critique their own and others
writing.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. To understand the complexity of forensic investigations and the wide range of
skills that may be required.
2. To appreciate the complimentary nature of different disciplines and aspects of
forensic investigation.
3. To logically follow a sequence of evidence and draw appropriate conclusions.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Understand the causes and consequences of different disaster scenarios.
2. Identify the role of reports and investigations that inform lessons to be
learned from failure.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Review the skills and qualities they possess and how these relate to the
skills and qualities associated with successful entrepreneurs.
2. Understand the skills and approaches the entrepreneur brings to the process
of value creation.
3. Produce a simple business plan which demonstrates the commercial viability
of a proposed small business start-up.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
1. Identify knowledge, abilities and transferable skills developed by ones degree.
2. Synthesise ones key strengths, goals and motivations into a rounded
personal profile.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of general trends in graduate employment and
opportunities for graduates in ones discipline.
4. Devise a short/medium-term career development action plan.
5. Demonstrate understanding of effective opportunity-search strategies.
6. Demonstrate ability to present oneself effectively in selection interviews and
other selection processes.
More Information
If you want more information on any of
the electives listed above, please see the
full Elective descriptors which you can
access through OASIS on the applicant portal.
https://applications.abertay.ac.uk/external/
oasis/structdesc/modspc.cfm