McGill University Courses

Natural Disasters

3.8

No region on Earth is immune from natural disasters. As we gain scientific understanding into the causes and nature of such phenomena, we become better able to mitigate the effects of disasters. Yet as the world's population continues to grow, an increasingly large number of people are at risk.This science course examines different types of natural disasters and our ability, or inability, to control and predict such events. You will gain an appreciation of natural disasters beyond the newspaper headlines, and will better understand how the effects of disasters can be reduced.There is an urgent need for people from all walks of life to better understand the scientific principles behind the occurrence of natural disasters:City planners need to know where, and where not, to site buildings.Politicians need to make scientifically informed decisions.Emergency management officials need to understand the nature of a potential disaster and ways to mitigate such an event.Journalists need to report scientifically accurate information.Learner Testimonial:“Professors Stix and Gyakum have created and presented an engaging course, and have helped in my quest for a better understanding of the world around me.” – Previous Student

The Body Matters: Why Exercise Makes You Healthy and How to Stay Uninjured

4

This health course will show you why exercise is a fundamental component of a healthy lifestyle.Exercise is more than just an “art of converting big meals and fattening snacks into back strains and pulled muscles by lifting heavy things that don’t need to be moved, or running when no one is chasing you.” (Anonymous quote) Our bodies evolved to move over several millennia.Did you know that physically active obese individuals live longer than inactive thin individuals? Are you interested in seeing the evidence on the benefits and risks of stretching? What is the best way to treat your ankle, knee, and/or shoulder injury? How does injury affect mood and what are the consequences?Whether you are a competitive athlete, an aspiring musician or dancer, whether you play for fun or just want to lead an active lifestyle, this course will entertain and challenge you. You will learn the basic and advanced principles of body movement and biological, psychological and social issues related to activity, sport, injury and rehabilitation. The course will include content from leading global experts in multiple fields related to the science of exercise.

Human Population Dynamics

0

We are born, we usually move around during our lifetimes, and then, in time, we die. These three aspects of our daily lives – births, movements, and deaths – constitute the building blocks of population dynamics. Fertility, mortality, and migration, as they are more formally known respectively, comprise the central processes of population studies or demography.The composition of the population in which we live as characterized by its age-sex structure, and especially changes in it over time, shape many of our life-chances and have important socio-economic and political consequences for the societies that we have and what they can and are likely to become. These facts about our intimate personal lives combine to form a sum that is truly greater than its individual parts. In this course we will (a) explore how these population variables are defined, (b) examine some very elementary tools that we have to measure them, both directly and indirectly, (c) discuss the ways in which these demographic variables relate to each other, (d) investigate their significance for the ways in which societies are, and have been, affected by them and effect them, and (e) discover how they can be understood both at the individual level and at the societal level.Special attention will be given to the significant ways in which these three population variables are linked to other aspects of social structure both cross-sectional (at a given point in time) and longitudinally (over long periods of time), with special reference to the social changes that have defined our world today. We will also situate these population or demographic variables as factors that explain, and in turn can be explained by, other features of the human experience such as urban-rural residence, educational attainment, labour force participation, minority status, family formation, retirement arrangements, and health care, among others. Further, as we expose various aspects of the three demographic variables, we will be in a position to assess the impact of human population dynamics on the Earth’s environment.Most importantly, in this course we will discuss why population age-sex structures and the demographic variables themselves matter, and should matter, to all of us as citizens insofar as they constrain the options available to us and limit the choices we and our societies are asked to make.

Food for Thought

5

Eating well and understanding the nuances of food has become a complicated and often confusing experience. Virtually every day brings news about some “miracle food” that we should be consuming or some "poison" we should be avoiding. One day it's tomatoes to prevent cancer, then flaxseed against heart disease or soybeans for reducing menopause symptoms. At the same time, we are warned about trans fats, genetically modified foods, aspartame or MSG. Dietary supplements may be touted as the key to health or a factor in morbidity. According to some, dairy products are indispensable while others urge us to avoid them. The same goes for meat, wheat and soy; the list goes on.This course will shed light on the molecules that constitute our macro and micronutrients and will attempt to clarify a number of the food issues using tthe best evidence available.