This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of urban ecology and evolution using the Greater Toronto Area as a model to study the topic. The course will focus on understanding how ecological and evolutionary processes are influenced by urban development, human behaviour, and the built environment, and how the environment can feed back to shape cities and socio-ecology, including human behaviour and well-being. Students will be introduced to principles of the scientific process including making observations, stating hypotheses, experimental design, conducting experiments, data collection, statistical analysis and interpretation, and scientific writing and oral presentations. The course will focus on all major habitats in urban areas to understand how urban environmental change of air, water and land influence the ecology and evolution of populations, communities and ecosystems.

This course focuses on the interface between ecology and evolution. Research has shown that biotic and abiotic ecological factors drive evolution, and in turn, evolution feeds back to influence the ecological processes and patterns of populations and communities. Throughout this course we will focus on this dynamic interplay over short and long time spans in animals, plants, fungi, and other microbes. While covering the concepts and questions of this field we will also consider the theory, methods, and statistics used to bring new insights to evolutionary ecology. Students will be expected to participate in discussions, present methods and concepts to the class, and complete written assignments.

The genome has been referred to as the blueprint of life and consists of the full complement of genes and genetic material carried by an organism. The ongoing revolution in DNA sequencing allows biologists to observe the variety of genetic and genomic structures that underpin the diversity of life. In addition, applications of genomic technologies have facilitated new fields of research such as personalized medicine and evolutionary genomics. The lectures will focus on the diversity of genomic structures, their functions and evolutionary origins. The course also has computer-based practicals that provide hands-on training with cutting-edge bioinformatic tools for analysis of genome-scale datasets and next generation sequencing data.

Biodiversity is the sum of species diversity, and also the interaction of species at population, at ecosystem and at migration-route levels; it is one barometer of environmental health. Conservation biology applies ecological and genetic principles to the problem of declining biodiversity. We discuss the species concept, quantification and cost-benefit analysis of biodiversity and extinction, causes, consequence, diagnosis and treatment of population declines, as well as the effects of different land uses on biodiversity and reserve design. A key part of this course is a case study by each student.

Note: Students from a wide range of programs are encouraged to enrol.

Virology examines the biology of viruses infecting all forms of life including humans and other animals, plants, eukaryotic microorganisms, and bacteria. The scope ranges from the molecular biology of virus replication to virus evolution and ecology. Current issues surrounding virology and society are incorporated into the course including vaccines, emerging viruses, and even consideration of practical applications of viruses.

This advanced course explores the primary concepts of pathogenesis and investigates current research in the field of molecular pathology. Specific disease topics include inflammation, injury and repair, neoplasia, immune disorders, infectious disease, cardiovascular disease, and toxicology. Analysis of the primary literature is a key component of this course.

The first part of the course examines the structure and molecular biology of the human genome. Topics will include: the sequencing of the human genome; variation between genomes; and various aspects of functional genomics such as a brief overview of how gene expression is regulated and how genomics is being utilized in health and medicine. Techniques such as high throughput sequencing will be covered. The second part of the course examines the molecular and genetic basis of cancer including the role of oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes and cell cycle regulating proteins in the development of this disease. It also looks at cancer from a functional genomics perspective. Lectures and seminars involve presentations and discussion of recently published research articles.

Students in this course will conduct a research project under the supervision of a faculty member in the Department of Biology. The course is open to third and fourth year students. Students learn how to design, carry out, and evaluate the results of a research project. Students are required to write and present a research proposal, write a term paper, and present a seminar on the results of their research project. All students interested in a research project must approach potential faculty supervisors several months in advance of the beginning of term. Students must obtain permission from the faculty member whom they would like to serve as their project supervisor. Students must meet with the course coordinator periodically throughout the academic year.

The focus of this advanced course will reflect the expertise and research of the Instructor. Students will actively participate in the discussion, criticism and interpretations of recent scientific papers. Implications and applications of these research advances will be explored. Current year's topic will be listed on the Biology department website. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.

The focus of this advanced course will reflect the expertise and research of the Instructor. Students will actively participate in the discussion, criticism and interpretations of recent scientific papers. Implications and applications of these research advances will be explored. Current year's topic will be listed on the Biology department website. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.

This course is intended for students in the Bioinformatics Specialist degree program. Possible areas in which the research may take place include: functional genomics (e.g., microarray and proteomic data analysis); systems biology; and the development of novel analytical methods for large datasets. Students will be required to produce a written document of their project and present it orally. In order to enrol in this course, students must obtain, several months in advance, approval from a faculty member(s) who will serve as supervisor(s).

This course examines different information and communication technologies (ICTs) through the analysis of such genres as contemporary written, visual, oral, electronic and musical forms. It illustrates a range of theoretical perspectives that seek to explain the relationship between communication and technology. This course will also examine, briefly, the history of ICTs.

This course critically examines the written, visual, aural, and dynamic rhetoric as it pertains to communications for academic and other purposes across a range of digital and interactive media discourses.

This experiential learning course introduces students to the practice and theory of coding, programming, and basic development of user-oriented software. The lectures illustrate a core range of software development concepts that provide the foundations needed for the practical coding of front-end applications such as mobile interfaces or of back-end software such as introductory artificial intelligence or social media analysis. The practicals are lab-based and focus on applying these theoretical skills to solving problems grounded in a critical understanding of the interaction between people, culture, and society, by developing software or apps in languages such as Java, Objective C, Swift, Python.

This course introduces students to the foundational principles and analytical tools from the management discipline in link with today’s economic and technological advancements. Particular emphasis is given to the interconnections between information and communications technologies, innovation, the role of managers and their decision-making processes, and related social, cultural, and economic institutions.

This course provides an introduction to the intersecting fields of critical race, media, and cultural studies. We will pay particular attention to dynamics of social difference and power and the communication strategies and technologies through which these are navigated, reproduced and interrupted. Students will be introduced to critical and analytical tools for understanding the cultural and media circulation, regulation and reimagination of things like race, sexuality, time, gender, class, indigeneity, space, ethnicity, ability and nationality. These critical tools equip students with the skills to write, design and build ethical innovations in new media and culture.

From voice responsive cars and virtual assistants to social robots and smart toys, people are increasingly interacting with communicative technologies in their daily lives. In this course students will consider the implications of this evolution in communication practice – informing design, ethics, efficacy, privacy, and other implications. Human-machine communication is a specific area of study within communication encompassing human-computer interaction, human-robot interaction, and human-agent interaction.

This course provides an introduction to research design, conduct, and analysis for making informed business decisions. The course will focus on basic methodologies, qualitative and quantitative methods, data sources, reliability, validity, and other measurement issues, data collection and research design, ethics in research, and report writing and presentation.

An introduction to the basic concepts and skills of design thinking as an interdisciplinary subject. Emphasizes creative and critical thinking in the design process; provides the student with the theory and operational skills necessary to solve design problems in the realms of symbolic and visual communication, material objects, environments, and organized services and activities.

This course examines a range of theoretical perspectives and worldviews that assess the cultural and social changes brought about by modern technology. These perspectives will be used to analyze the potential problems initiated by the introduction of digital and computing technologies to various contexts. Possible topics include: cybernetics; media convergence; artificial intelligence/life; smart technology; digital environmentalism and digital warfare.

This course will provide a detailed review of copyright, trademark and patent law with a special emphasis on how they apply to digital media. This course will also review the law of contract as it applies to digital industries and investigate the relevant tort law. In addition, other regulatory issues will be discussed such as telecommunications and broadcasting law both from a Canadian and an international perspective.

This course is a survey of research methodologies in the field of communication and media. A central goal of the course is to train students how to critically assess methods commonly used in social science research. Students will also become familiar with how to properly collect and interpret quantitative and qualitative social science research data.

How written or spoken statements, gestures, and aesthetic objects come to have meanings. How we recognize and fail to recognize such meanings. The nature, systems, and processes of interpretation. The role of mental models.

This experiential learning course introduces students to the practice and theory of coding, programming, and development of user interfaces. The lectures illustrate an advanced range of software development concepts needed for the practical coding of user interfaces across a variety of devices. The practicals are lab-based and focus on applying these theoretical skills to design, implementation, and testing of user interface software components. Students will have the opportunity to acquire project management and software engineering skills Scrum, Agile), programming languages (Java, Javascript, Objective C, Swift, and other mobile and web programming languages), and evaluation methodologies (unit testing, bug tracking).

This course introduces students to the critical study of computing and its interaction with culture and society. It examines how relations between humans and technology create different kinds of technocultures. Students will explore contemporary technologies from both a technical and cultural/historical point of view, focusing on the labour of coding, the materiality of software code, the role of intellectual property, and the cultures that sustain and arise from digital media production.

An introduction to foundational theories for studying the relationship between media, technology and society. The course presents technology as a social practice and considers a wide variety of concepts and methods for studying its cultural and political significance.

This course presents economic principles that explain how markets help organize exchange and production among competing but nevertheless cooperating economic units. Theories of consumer demand, the economic nature and function of business firms, optimal business decision rules of monopoly, oligopoly, and anti-combines regulations, as well as game theory, are presented. Efficiency criteria pertaining to the operation of firms and markets, the role of property rights, and the scope for public policy, are also examined.

Techniques for developing a comprehensive marketing strategy will be developed with particular emphasis on digital products and services. The nature of digital markets, approaches to advertising, pricing and such areas as versioning will also be discussed.

The course analyzes the relationship between media systems, communication technologies, and power. As an introduction to a political economy approach, this course surveys how media, culture, information and technologies are produced, circulated, and consumed, with attention to both historical developments and contemporary practices in the digital era. The course provides a basic understanding of media systems, technologies, and culture production in relation to the market, the state, and civil society. Students will develop a basic understanding of the political, economic, cultural, and regulatory environment in which media, culture, and technologies are produced, and pay particular attention to the implications of processes such as globalization, digitization, marketization, and commodification for social life.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the activities and processes that take place in organizations. Major emphasis is placed on the investigation of the varied measures that can be developed to assess and subsequently improve the performance of the organization. The interpretation of measures in managerial decision-making will also be investigated in detail.