This module covers the basic principles of ecology focusing on the concepts pertaining to the complex patterns of interactions between the physical environment and communities on earth. Emphasis is given on current issues, especially in the context of the Pearl River Delta region. It aims to explore the ecology of terrestrial, marine and freshwater environments and the efforts being made to conserve them. Students will visit a variety of habitats, and observe directly the main environmental factors that prevail in each of them so as to gain a first-hand understanding of the ecology of Macao and neighbouring areas.

Students will have an understanding of the environmental impacts on their life and know how to deal with environmental problems, such as pollutions, and to live in harmony with other organisms.

This module introduces students to concepts concerned with biodiversity, the genetic basis of evolution and evolutionary processes that leads to and maintains or limits biodiversity. Students will be introduced to the major groups of organisms from an evolutionary perspective and evaluate how these groups are related to one another and how they evolved. The role of biodiversity in the maintenance of healthy ecosystems and their potential for adaptation to recent changes in the environment will also be discussed.

Understanding, modeling and predicting processes in the atmosphere and the ocean have gained importance in the last decade. This module focuses on physical phenomena such as heat transfer, atmospheric and oceanic circulation and waves.

Main characteristics of the Surface and Deep Ocean Circulation will be focused, with emphasis on the importance of Thermohaline circulation (the global conveyor belt) as a temperature regulatory mechanism as well as a vital component of the global ocean nutrient and carbon dioxide cycles.

Ocean – Atmosphere Interactions will be analysed namely in what concerns climate evolution. Relationships between solar radiation variability (sunspot activity) and historical climate oscillations will be referred.

Oceanic waves will be described, introducing the main wave theories (Airy, Stokes, Cnoidal). Attention will be given to unusual waves, such as rogue and tsunami waves, as well as to infragravity waves and their importance in the shore characteristics.

Large-scale environmental phenomena and problems including the greenhouse effect, El Niño / La Niña, Arctic and North Atlantic oscillations, etc. will be examined as well as the role of the atmosphere – ocean system in climate change. It will be also debated the modern methods and technologies essential to understand and predict these phenomena.

At the end, evidence for changes in ocean and sea level due to global warming will be explored and the connection between human activity and the current warming trend will be focused, considering some of the potential social, economic and environmental consequences of climate change.

This module provides students with a basic understanding of the major coastal processes and systems with relevance to coastal zone management. Topics include the coastal geomorphology and morph-dynamics (genesis and evolution), coastal landform classification (estuaries, deltas, beaches, barriers, dunes etc), the complex coastal processes (wind, tides, current, waves and clime), coastal ecosystems (mangroves, coral reefs, salt marshes, etc) sea-level fluctuations (causes and consequences on the costal zones) and human-coastal interactions.

Coastal hazards related with sea-level rise, erosion, storms, tsunamis and other phenomena and their management will be also highlighted.

This module will focus on the understanding of the effects and risks of pollutants to biological systems, including human population.

It will begin by studying the major classes of pollutants that can impact health, the environmental sources of these substances, their transport and resilience in the environment and the routes for human and animal exposure to these chemicals.

asic concepts of toxicology will be reviewed, including dose-response relationships, chemodynamics and chemokinetics. The potential impact on human health will be addressed by reviewing common negative effects on health (e.g. organ toxicity, carcinogenesis, endocrine disruption, neurodevelopmental effects, etc).

The module will also review the existing procedures for monitoring environmental pollutants. Finally, a strong emphasis will be given to risk assessment and to the analytical procedures available for measuring environmental pollutants and for testing the potential negative effects of new pollutants in animal and human health.

Simple laboratory experiments in ecotoxicology will be run in order to provide hands-on training to students.

To present students knowledge and understanding of renewable and sustainable energy and their management in the area of technology, finance and regulatory practices.

This module focuses on environmental natural disasters, as landslides, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, floods, and other natural hazards in order to understand their origins and consequences, and evaluate their impacts in the earth dynamics and on the risks for human society. Discussions of how and why natural hazards occur; how human society should prepare for each of them; what kind of hazard events (secondary hazards) may occur after an initial disaster, will be debated.

Historical and contemporary case studies will be utilized to investigate the interaction between society and natural hazards.

The module will begin by reviewing the major international agreements in the environmental area. The local legislation on environment will also be reviewed at the end of the course and compared with relevant international legislation.

The market failures (public goods and the tragedy of the commons) are setting the scene for the environmental law. Indeed, our program cover two regulation areas that somehow are interconnected. Firstly, the module address environmental problems from the global prespective and therefore the main instruments of regulation as a set of broad policies (concepts and principles) which have been developed and used as the basis of the international environmental law. Furthermore, the modules also makes reference to the influence of environmental international law and other branches of law such as human rights law, international humanitarian law, trade law and, increasingly, in international investment law. Concurrently, it studies the main sources of environmental law, emphasizing the importance of the volutary mechanism as sources of international law. It further studies the main treaties and conventions directly related to the environment protection, namely the instuments applying to the global commons and international regulation of shared environmental impacts.

Secondly, if focus on the local reality (Macao acquis) and therefore of departing from Macao Basic Law, it concludes the study addressing the Macao SAR instruments on environment protection, side-by-side the sources of administrative and criminal individual responsibility.

Finally, students will have the opportunity to shortly research on one related environmental area from the legal and local point of view.

Development projects can have a significant impact in both the environment and populations. These include impacts as diverse as those derived from the manufacturing of construction materials, from ecological changes in non-urban areas, from energy consumption of built structures, or from undesirable effects to populations during and after construction. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a key instrument for sustainable development as it allows to integrate all the potential impacts of a project and to suggest measures for their mitigation and management. The module provides an overview of the EIA process, including of the tools most commonly applied for environmental assessment and management. The EIA framework at a regional (Macau, Hong Kong and Mainland China) and international level will be discussed. The different steps of an EIA study, including Screening, Scoping, Impact analysis, Mitigation and Impact Management, Reporting, Reviewing, Decision-Making, Implementation, and Monitoring will be reviewed. The concepts of Strategic Environmental Assessment and Cumulative Effects Assessment as tools for sustainability will be discussed. Finally, the concept of environmental standards and environmental management systems and their application to different fields will be reviewed.

In addition, the module aims to give practical training to students on EIA via hands-on analysis of case-studies. EIA analysis will be simulated to specific project in order to apply the EIA concepts learned in this module in real-life projects and understand how EIA can be incorporated in projects at the design, construction and operation phases.

By being aware of the concept and steps of EIA, developers can better integrate, from the start, measures in the planning and design of their projects that will minimize environmental and social impacts. The module will thus provide a comprehensive understanding of the process of EIA in various contexts.

This module focuses on marine pollution and ecotoxicology: from the definition of pollutant versus contaminant to the different types of pollutants that these ecosystems are subjected to (from organic to inorganic). Also, will be focused the effects of these pollutants on the coastal systems, from the cellular level to the population and ecosystem level. The students will be able to understand different mechanisms of bioaccumulation, biomagnification and elimination processes. Will be debated some strategies to control pollution in coastal systems. The contents of this module will promote a greater awareness for the importance of coastal systems, their management and conservation.

This module focuses on the pollution of different environmental comparments, namely air, soil and water pollution, putting forward prevention measures on global and local scale and on treatment and remediation technologies. The contents of this module provide the students with tools to contribute to sustainable practices within primary production, aiming at preserving water and soil resources, with knowledge on technologies for water/wastewater treatment and for soil management and requalification, and with knowledge on valorisation solutions for water, by-products and residues produced during different human activities. Contribution of good practices to sustainability on a gobal scale will be approached.

The module Environmental Philosophy and Ethics focuses on the relationship of humans with nature and their environment. While numerous philosophers have written on natural philosophy throughout history (Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Rousseau, Locke, Marx, Merleu-Ponty, Heidegger, Rawls, etc.), environmental philosphy and ethics only developed into a specific philosophical discipline in the 1970s. This emergence occurred due to the increasing awareness in the 1960s of the effects that technology, industry, economic expansion and population growth were having on the environment.

Sound philosophical and ethical reflections are indispensable today for consistent sustainable development and policies on local, national, and international level. The module Environmental Philosphy and Ethics reflects systematically on responsible interactions of people and societies with nature and the environment (ecological justice) on the individual (micro), the institutional (meso) and the socio-political level (macro). Aiming at sustainable societies, the module explores coherent philosophical and ethical principles for individuals and institutions underpinning the need to equitably balance the needs of those alive today (intragenerational justice) with the needs of future generations (intergenerational justice). Philosophcial and ethical foundations for a sustainable use of resources and energy are assessed: e.g. biodiversity, circular economy; decarbonisation, low/zero waste societies; waste hierarchy, user-polluter pays principle; transparency and accountability; economic incentives etc. Also the currrent inequalities between polluters and victims are addressed in order to promote a more just and ecologically sustainable form of development.

This module will review and evaluate scientific theories, biological knowledge from genetics to ecosystems, that are essential to conservation biology and its applications. It will review concepts in biodiversity, applied ecology, environmental management, community, population and landscape ecology. Emphasis will be given to the various mechanisms that cause changes, specially the loss, restoration and maintenance of biological diversity, as well as the consequence of these changes, specially in today’s world. The implications of conservation for ethics, law, policy and economics will also be dealt with. Management principles and tools for conservation will be discussed and students are expected to apply this by taking part in practical field activities to identify and evaluate current conservation issues in the region.

Urban ecology is the scientific study of the relation of living organisms with each other and their surroundings in the context of an urban environment. Environmental planning is a process of identifying, assessing and coming up with solutions to environmental issues. This overview module explores urban and environmental planning issues and problems, and reviews the ways planners grapple with them. Topics cover urban environmental issues and their impacts on the future of the city, including: food, water, urban health, biodiversity, landscape performance, pollution and toxicity, building health, resource consumption, waste management, and more.

This course will provide an overview of the principles of epidemiology and its relationship with public health. The content will focus on key terms for describing disease occurrence in the population, identify several commonly used study designs, and interpret measures of association and causality. Particular emphasis will be given to environmental epidemiology. This module will cover a description of the emerging methods used in enviromental epidemiology and to analyse epidemiological events affecting public health. Current and future directions of molecular biology, genetics (e.g. microarrays and proteomics) and pharmacology will also be discussed. A strong emphasis will be given to discussion of scientific papers.

This module aims to introduce students to the different topics and issues related with the Environmental Sciences. They will receive an introductory overview about ecosystems and the importance of natural resources, main pressures facing the global environment, sustainability and sustainable development. Students will learn the main categories of environmental problems as well as understand and discuss the relationship between environment, ethics and economy. Finally, the module will focus on demographic and sociological differences between developed and developing countries. Students will discuss scientific papers, reports and documentaries throughout the module by oral presentations and team work. A field trip to Coloane (Macau) will be conducted at the end of the module where students will experience hands on real data collection for a final project.

Law and political structures play an important regulatory role towards the goal of sustainable development. Still, worldwide environmental degradation is a reality. The module will thus focus in the effectiveness and limitations of law and its enforcement as tools for environmental protection.

The module will begin by reviewing the major international agreements in the environmental area. The local legislation on environment will also be reviewed and compared with relevant international legislation. The role of the institutional and political structures in the process of decision-making concerning the environment will be analysed using particular case-studies as examples, whenever appropriate.

This module focuses on issues and concerns regarding pollution and waste management in today’s cities. It includes topics on sources, identification and characterization of pollutants, effects of pollutants on the physical and natural environment and on public health, abatement techniques, control and management of pollution. Different sources and types of wastes and the corresponding methods of management will be assessed and compared. This will be complemented by visits to facilities such as the Macao Incineration Plant and Macao Waste Water Treatment Plant. Environment-friendly waste management strategies such as reduction, recycling and reuse are evaluated in terms of their use/application in the region. Existing rules and regulations in Macao, Hong Kong, China and other countries, regarding pollution monitoring and control, environmental sanitation, solid and liquid waste management, quality control and standards are also included. Students are expected to develop a conceptual plan or proposal for pollution and waste management in Macao, Hong Kong or a city of their choice at the end of the module.

It is consensual that we all benefit from a sustainable use of the Earth’s resources and from environmental amenities, such as a clean environment or high biodiversity. However, the economic incentive for individuals or companies to contribute towards these goals is low. To overcome this problem, and in the failure of conventional approaches, governments have been increasingly using market-based instruments to drive benefits for environmental protection. In addition, examples of companies that have been taking extra steps in incorporating environmental strategies as a tool to increase competitiveness have been growing.

The module will start by analyzing the costs and benefits of environmental protection and sustainable development. The fundamentals of the driving forces that influence different human activities and policies, within the context of environmental protection, will be analyzed and discussed. The traditional role of governments, companies and NGOs in environmental protection will be compared with the latest strategies adopted by the different players in different markets (Europe, USA, Asia). The analysis of particular market-based strategies, such as tradable pollution credits, will be used to demonstrate the economic rationale behind using markets for environmental protection. The success of these strategies will be debated and compared with traditional centralized approaches.

Case-studies on corporate environmental strategies will be presented in order to understand how companies can use environmental management to gain advantage over direct competitors.

Throughout the module it will be highlighted how the interaction between the government, the private sector and the civil society shapes environmental decisions and how this interaction varies in different systems.

Environmental ethics reflects systematically on responsible interactions of people with the non-human nature (ecological justice) on the individual (micro), the institutional (meso) and the socio-political level (macro). Accounting for long-term effects and aiming at the good life, it fosters ethical principles for individuals and institutions underpinning both the need to equitably and ecologically balance the need of those alive today (intragenerational justice) as well as with generations yet to be born (intergenerational justice).

This module deals with the concepts and principles in ecology, the physical and biological factors that influence the distribution and dynamics of organisms in the various terrestrial and aquatic environments, processes and dynamics of interactions within and among populations of organisms, communities and ecosystems (from populations to ecosystems). Specific examples of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in Macao such as the forests in Coloane, the wetlands in Taipa and mangrove forest in the Coloane-Taipa area will be discussed and compared to other ecosystems in the world. The ecological, economic and social benefits given by these different ecosystems are also evaluated. This is followed by identification of approaches and strategies in ecosystems conservation, primarily relating these to the various services that the natural ecosystems provide. Emphasis is given on current issues on conservation, especially in the Macao context. Students will experience practical field activities to the different ecosystems in Macao, Hong Kong and nearby areas and are expected to develop conceptual conservation proposals for the ecosystems in Macao.

The development of new environmental technologies is of paramount importance to fight global environmental challenges such as global warming or energy supply and to face the increasing population pressure on urban areas. The module will start by describing the established technologies available for environmental management, including water treatment, solid waste disposal, gas emissions and energy production. New technologies being developed in these areas will also be studied and their potential discussed. The module includes laboratory training in some analytical techniques (e.g. determination of physical-chemical parameters in water samples) and field visits to relevant facilities such as solid and water treatment plants.

This module provides students with a basic understanding on the major coastal processes and systems with relevance to coastal zone management and their relationship with climate change. Topics include the coastal geomorphology and morphodynamics (genesis and evolution), coastal landform classification (estuaries, deltas, beaches, barriers, dunes etc), the complex coastal processes (wind, tides, currents, waves and climate), sea-level fluctuations (causes and consequences on the costal zones) and human-coastal interactions.

Climate change is predicted to influence the frequency and magnitude of coastal hazards and how to manage phenomena related with sea-level rise, erosion, storms, tsunamis and other natural hazards will be discussed.

This module will focus on the understanding of the effects and risks of pollutants to natural ecosystems and human populations. It will begin by studying the major classes of pollutants that can impact health, the environmental sources of these substances, their transport and resilience in the environment and the routes for human and animal exposure to these chemicals. Basic concepts of toxicology will be reviewed, including dose-response relationships, chemodynamics and chemokinetics. The potential impact on human health will be addressed by reviewing common negative effects on health (e.g. organ toxicity, carcinogenesis, endocrine disruption, neurodevelopmental effects, etc).

The module will also review the existing procedures for monitoring environmental pollutants in different countries. Finally, a strong emphasis will be given to risk assessment and to the analytical procedures available for measuring environmental pollutants and for testing the potential negative effects of new pollutants in animal and human health. Simple laboratory experiments in ecotoxicology will be run in order to provide hands-on training to students in a number of relevant techniques.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a key instrument for environmental policy and decision making. The module provides an overview of the EIA process, including of the tools most commonly applied for environmental assessment and management. A particular focus will be given to the EIA framework at a regional level (Macau, Hong Kong and Mainland China) but good practices in EIA at an international level will also be discussed. The module also aims to give practical training to students on EIA via hands-on analysis of local and international case-studies. Students will go through all the practical steps of an EIA process, including data collection, data analysis, EIA reporting and monitoring.

This module introduces students to a range of advanced construction approaches and techniques. These include the technologies that are important for environmentally sustainable and sensitive buildings, and for managing the ongoing internal situation of buildings so as to minimize their environmental impact. In particular, it will provide the technical knowledge necessary to design, detail, specify and construct building enclosures. Case studies of historical as well as contemporary examples are used to illustrate the technical content of the module. This will provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the technical concepts as well as the specific skills necessary to undertake the detailing and specification of a curtain wall.

Macau provides an ideal context to investigate the challenges and opportunities of sustainable urban design and some of the opportunities and techniques that will alleviate the environmental impact of urban development, with particular attention to the Pearl River Delta region. This module will introduce relevant theories, concepts, methods, and tools. Students will learn ways of organizing territorial-based information, while gaining an awareness of the importance of geomorphological processes and related risks. Topics will include the urbanization process, cities and globalization, differentiation and functional dynamics of urban space, spatial economy and land use, cities and social differentiation, urban ecology, urban landscapes, environment and heritage.

This course examines the discursive issues that affect architecture and the built environment today. Emphasis will be placed on understanding contemporary challenges in architectural practice and theory and their origins in the continuation, diversification, and transformation of the modernist tradition over the course of the last century. Major issues to be addressed include the relationships between architecture and its global-local context, the digital revolution, the conservation of urban and cultural heritage, public housing, sustainability, and the complex relationships between architecture and other disciplines.

This module addresses techniques and approaches for the sustainable design of buildings. Reuse and recycling of building elements are examined through real case studies. The strategies, approaches, and technologies available to minimize consumption of energy, water, and other resources are also examined. The module will explore the latent potential of these different systems (whether natural or artificial), and how they affect and are affected by the built environment. Through interactive discussions, students will learn to apply design strategies for greener buildings and also be made aware of the sustainable evaluation systems, criteria, and methods for building performance evaluation, such as LEED and BREEAM. Case studies relevant to the situation in Macau are used to illustrate these concepts and technologies.

The course organized in two complementary phases. On the first phase, it is expected to provide an outline to moral philosophy (or ethics) related to personal and professional choices within the context of Public Policy and Communication & Media decision-making processes. Firstly, we will begin by examining certain problems that arise when we try to make moral judgments: problems such as cultural relativism (“What’s right for us is not necessarily right for them”), subjectivism (“What’s right for me is not necessarily right for you”), and the role of religion in morality (e.g., “What’s right is just what God says is right”). Ethical pluralism will be the dominant discourse.

Secondly, we will depart from the study of personal and public values to understand how it is possible to learn from tradition, from each other, and from ourselves to ground free moral choices leading to the inner “well-being”. This area explores in particular parity between the personal inner “well-being” and “public common-good/public interest”. Moreover, we will consider several prominent theoretical approaches to ethics holding the ability to invite students to discover a systematic procedure for answering questions about right, wrong, dignity, ignominy, justice, injustice, good, and evil.

Thirdly, the course we will consider more concretely a variety of important moral issues in modern media affairs such as civic journalism, communitarianism, public service, freedom of speech, pluralism, institutional responsibility, and media responsibility. Nevertheless, media self-regulation will be presented as the most obvious way to ensure both the freedom and responsibility of the mass media in society. Alongside, media passive, conservative, hyperactive, and naïve attitude will be discussed within the framework of media as the “four State power”. Furthermore, the course will address the following ethical media issues: Truthfulness in gathering and reporting information; freedom of expression and comment; defence of individual rights; equality by not discriminating against anyone on the basis of his/her race, ethnicity or religion, sex, social class, profession, handicap or other personal characteristics; fairness by using only straightforward means in gathering information; respect for the sources and referents and their integrity for copyright and quoting; independence/integrity by refusing bribes or any other outside influence on the work by demanding the conscience clause.

In addition, throughout the course, the ability to elaborate and consider different moral perspectives will be encouraged, likewise the considerations that may count as reasons for and against the individual moral stands. The main objective is not to inspire students to deliver crystal clear judgements but to understand, to discover, to clarify and to explore possible solutions for current moral dilemmas in areas such as: War & Violence, Fairness & Corruption, Obedience & Disobedience, Deception & Secrecy, Development & Environment Protection, Individual Rights & Institutions Prestige, Gambling & Drugs, Investment & Public Health, Crime & Punishment (death penalty), and Private Well-being & Public Interest.

Finally, Ethics will be addressed as a study of values theory and therefore of what is more or less important, of the “good,” of behavioural guidelines and norms of ethical conscience. Ethics will be studied as a framework and as a tool for recognizing and assessing available options and for differentiating between more or less morally justified pathways in any given situation. Ethics is not taught a catalogue of final answers but a permanent invitation to discover and confront personal positions against values and moral dilemmas.

On the second phase, the subject introduces students to ethical issues that arise in the Media on the basis of ethical principles and values justified in turn, on the basis of contemporary ethical theories. Students will identify and critically examine and evaluate specific ethical issues that arise in practice by reference to real case studies, professional codes of ethics and ethical principles.

This course will explore the origins of ethical behaviour and actions within the media, will review both classical and contemporary approaches to ethical decision making and apply them to modern media practices. At the same time, reviewing whether the media today are acting appropriately as regards ethical practice, and if not, why not? You will critique media practices, and also search for suggestions that will most positively affect both the media institutions and the publics with which they interact and upon which they rely for their livelihood. Do the media have a special obligation to ethical behaviour? Do they have a special waiver of the basic moral tenets?

The traditional object of ethics, the Good, needs to be articulated with the Truth and Justice in the private domain of information, which seems to be of extreme importance. It is a privilege to the ethics of journalism. A job which should be done with liberty and begging the central question of Truth and Respect for the human being, factors which show us the responsibilities of a journalist. Let us then propose a reflection of the attempt to reach the objectivity of the information without letting through in any subjectivity of the journalist.

It is the right of men to orientate the ethical reflection; a reflection, which before being built up as normative, is interrogative, critical, and questioning.

Knowing that the ethics of communications has a strong place in the domain of journalistic information, it is then up to us, despite the difficulties and obstacles and easy access to information, not to ignore that the media does give us a space to see the meaning of life. That is the reason why Aurelius said: “Reason and reasoning are sufficient for themselves and for their own works. They move then from a first principle which is their own, and they make their way to the end which is proposed to them; and this is the reason why such acts are named catorthoseis or right acts, which word signifies that they proceed by the right road”. Every class will have assignments applying to the individual ability to solve moral dilemmas.”

This module explores the history and practice of journalism and the roles and ethics of reporters and journalists. The economic structures of media organizations are also considered. The relationships between public and private individuals and organizations are considered along with the notions of newsworthiness, the right to privacy and legitimate public interest. Strategies and approaches that might be adopted by private individuals and organizations to manage critical and newsworthy situations are also examined. Crises and disasters are also discussed and strategies and approaches for reporting on them and for managing them are considered.

Provide the conceptual tools capable to potentiate the exercise of a critical and informed reflection that having as first object the creation and reception of works of art. Contact with a thematic path historically oriented, which runs through the thinking of some of the main agents of aesthetic reflection of the past and the contemporary, the East and West. Enhance critical autonomy and internalization of intrinsic interdependence between the production dimension and artistic production and conceptual discourse. The interdependence between the privileged world of representations for a given epoch, culture or artist, and how art is conceived, produced and experienced.

This course introduces the sociological perspective, distinguishing it from the common sense and discourse through a deconstructive and critical approach towards the social phenomena, with a specific emphasis on media arts such as cinematography. Therefore, the module aims to familiarize students with main sociological concepts and theories – socialization, stratification, inequality, identity and culture – which are centrally positioned among the individual-groups binomial.

In this context, current key social phenomena are approached through a sociological lens, where the main concepts are intertwined with the agency/structure debate, which presents an ongoing critical challenge to the portrayal of these social phenomena in media arts, such as digital cinema.

Consequently, by fostering an analytical stance towards current key social phenomena, the sociological perspective presents an added value for the creation and production of digital cinema in contemporary societies. As the deconstructive and critical approach allows the recognition and exploration of multiple viewpoints towards the social construction of reality, it becomes increasingly important to incorporate a strong ethical perspective.

Accordingly, ethical principles and procedures inherent to the development of social research are discussed, in order to highlight the possibilities of their transposition and adaptation to the specific context of creation and production of digital cinema.

This course offers an explanation of what intellectual property is and what it does. It further offers an overview of the IP system starting with the implied bargains that the State makes with inventors, entrepreneurs and creative individuals. In addition it explains the policy issues behind the creation of intellectual property law.

Departing from the principles and sources of international IP law, the course outlines the intellectual property system, the WTO agreement, TRIPS, the cornerstone treaties and their implementation into national law in relation to MSAR, with a particular reference to the CPLP member States. It explores the specific means of protecting brands, designs, technology and creative works. The design of the learning experience has specifically been prepared to cover patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

Provide the conceptual tools capable to potentiate the exercise of a critical and informed reflection that having as first object the creation and reception of works of art. Contact with a thematic path historically oriented, which runs through the thinking of some of the main agents of aesthetic reflection of the past and the contemporary, the East and West. Enhance critical autonomy and internalization of intrinsic interdependence between the production dimension and artistic production and conceptual discourse. The interdependence between the privileged world of representations for a given epoch, culture or artist, and how art is conceived, produced and experienced.

This course introduces the sociological perspective, distinguishing it from the common sense and discourse through a deconstructive and critical approach towards the social phenomena, with a specific emphasis on media arts such as cinematography. Therefore, the module aims to familiarize students with main sociological concepts and theories – socialization, stratification, inequality, identity and culture – which are centrally positioned among the individual-groups binomial.

In this context, current key social phenomena are approached through a sociological lens, where the main concepts are intertwined with the agency/structure debate, which presents an ongoing critical challenge to the portrayal of these social phenomena in media arts, such as digital cinema.

Consequently, by fostering an analytical stance towards current key social phenomena, the sociological perspective presents an added value for the creation and production of digital cinema in contemporary societies. As the deconstructive and critical approach allows the recognition and exploration of multiple viewpoints towards the social construction of reality, it becomes increasingly important to incorporate a strong ethical perspective.

Accordingly, ethical principles and procedures inherent to the development of social research are discussed, in order to highlight the possibilities of their transposition and adaptation to the specific context of creation and production of digital cinema.

Training and planning of public speaking an debating contemporary issues and problems.

Regarding any building or city as a combination of artificial and natural ecologies, students will examine relationships between architecture and urbanism in the contemporary context. This module concentrates on the principles of building structures, materials, and technology, environmental controls, and building services, at an advanced level of integrated architectural design, geared to the Macau context. For building materials and construction technology, the emphasis is on the performance criteria and applications of building materials, components and systems of construction. For building structures, the emphasis is on structural schemes systems relating to local building regulations and codes. For environmental controls and building services, the emphasis is on coordination of services for heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, fire safety, plumbing and drainage, electrical, lift and escalators, etc. Urban conditions are examined through readings of critical theories, analyses of developmental models, and empirical investigations. In conjunction with physical, historical, social, and economic research, alternative design strategies are explored to challenge existing models of urbanism.

This module reflects on the relevance of values, morality and ethics for responsible human decisions and actions on the individual, communal, societal, and global levels. Ethical and moral systems are critically evaluated as how they help to find orientation in preparing, making, and communicating responsible moral and ethical decision as global citizens and professionals. Special insights are drawn from the rich philosophical, ethical, and moral tradition of the catholic tradition in view of fostering human dignity, freedom, communication, personal and community growth in a more and more globally connected world. Considering right and wrong conduct, just and unjust individual and collective behaviour, the module encompasses inquiry into what constitutes “the good life” or happiness and fulfilment in view of the ultimate meaning of life.

This module examines a range of psychological traditions, their cultural backgrounds and their impacts on understanding culturally rooted behaviour and intercultural understanding. Eastern and western psychologies and traditions are introduced, and their implications are drawn for understanding child-rearing, learning, personal, interpersonal and organizational behaviour, business practices, leadership and management, collectivism and individualism. The need for intercultural sensitivity is addressed, together with how it can be developed. A range of lenses are introduced through which to view intercultural behaviour and communication.

Students will analyze the political, economic, and ethical issues raised by humanitarian interventions in the third world, such as linkages between relief and development, and how aid unintentionally targets and harms civilians. Students will also explore issues in global environment and resource policy, such as global climate change and chemicals management, trade and human health, corporate, national and global policies.

This module aims to provide you with a comprehensive introduction to urban geography. It focuses on the restlessness of urban environments and their populations to produce constantly changing, gradually evolving dynamic spaces and places. The module explores the way in which globalization and the city exist in tandem, mutually implicated and reinforcing. We examine the way in which global processes impact on the local level and the way in which local conditions modify global forces to produce distinctive, new hybrid urban forms. The concepts and theories presented in the module are exemplified by relevant case-studies drawn from the global scale. The module will involve three distinct but interconnected elements, each delivered by a different member of staff. The three elements will consider: (1) The idea of city from the classical antiquity (historical and cultural geography); (2) The city as a locus of economic production, consumption and exchange (economic geography); (3) The city and the environment (environment and demography). By the end of this module, students should be able to: describe and account for broad changes in the nature, form, function and inter-relationships of urban spaces over time; describe and explain the attributes, features and characteristics of different types of urban spaces; discuss the changing nature of basic urban geographical thought and enquiry; identify the major approaches to the production and regeneration of urban spaces in the late twentieth century; define and discuss major concepts and ideas (keywords and phrases); and explore more complicated work by accessing resources further embedded in foundation studies.

This module examines Chinese society and culture in Macau; Macau as a bridge between East and West; linguistic and cultural diversity in Macau; government, family and economy; religion, politics and geography in Macau. It examines Macau’s economic, cultural, social, political and geographical location as a meeting point of Eastern and Western cultures, in particular the meeting place of European and East Asian cultures, and it studies Macau and its neighbours, and the cultural, economic and social influences which impact on Macau as a developing city. The module introduces aspects of governance, economy, culture and the impact of its return to China.

This course explores the basic principals of law as they affect international business. It examines the basic instruments and institutions of the international legal system and cultural underpinnings of major world legal traditions, such as the European Union and the World Trade Organization. Students learn how to structure and execute basic international commercial transactions in goods, services, and technology, including the impact of import-export issues, contract issues, and trade issues on business transactions. The course also examines the structure and regulation of foreign direct investment, including strategic choices for business structures and the impact of regulation on strategy. Finally, the course examines the ethical dimensions of corporate conduct in a transnational setting. This course uses materials from many countries and traditions, and makes extensive use of the World Wide Web.

Over the past ten years, international trade policy and its institutions have taken on the additional responsibilities of protecting the environment and promoting development among the world’s poorest people. Students will first develop an understanding of the linkages between trade, environment, and development policies. Some of the more important efforts to link these policies together will also be studied, including the North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization’s “Development Round”, and tourism development in Southeast Asia.

Are you a global citizen? What does it mean to think about global citizenship? This course will explore ongoing political, economic and cultural transformations from the vantage points of recent debates regarding globalization and citizenship. Among the topics we will consider: patterns of international migration, corporate citizenship initiatives, the evolution of global governing institutions, the rise of international advocacy networks, the global impact of the Internet on political and social mobilization, and the role of the United States, the EU, China and Japan in the world.

This course is about the opportunities and challenges of using your managerial skills and entrepreneurial talents creatively and appropriately to help solve social problems and to make a difference in the lives of others. To that end, we focus on organizations with an explicit civic mission or social purpose. Course materials include readings, cases and films (where relevant). Periodically throughout the semester leaders of social enterprise organizations will join the class to explore the subject matter in more detail and from a practitioner’s perspective. The chief aims of this course are to: (1) provide a historical context for considering social enterprises; (2) engage participants in institutional efforts to create a good society through direct exposure and experience with the work of these organizations; (3) develop the skills and competencies necessary to respond positively to the managerial challenges faced by these organizations; and (4) prepare participants for leadership roles in their communities.

This course examines different perspectives on the role of power, anarchy, institutions, and identity in the international system. These ideas are then used to explore a wide range of current global issues, including war, trade, human rights, humanitarian intervention, and environmental problems. The goal of this course is to learn how various theories can bring both a richer understanding of the nature of international problems and of the motivations and perspectives of various international actors.

Students will be encouraged to recognize and understand the ongoing redefinition of societies as communities and the affirmation of the individual as a person. These capacities are relevant pre-conditions to students as they become cultured and transnational scholars. Students will be encouraged to delve into their learned and inherited cultural traditions to study and develop deeper awareness of notions, principles, methodologies and techniques useful to building family, academic, business, and civic communities that can and should make a difference. Recent research in the new science of networks will help the understanding and implementation of these ongoing transformations.

1. What is a political system? 2. Types of States… MSAR is not a State. 3. Types of Executives 4. Types of Assemblies 5. Political Representation 6. Introduction and Historic legal background 7. The “EOM” and the Portuguese Constituion of 1976 8. The Joint Declarion of 1987 9. The continuity principle 10. The formula “one country two systems” and the MBL 11. The MBL nature 12. The MBL autonomy and the MSAR 13. RPC and SAR 14. SAR and Comparative Law 15. Macau Constitutional Order 16. Fundamental rights in MBL 17. MSAR political system 18. MSAR and the judicial system 19. MSAR executive system 20. MSAR and the International Law: The Macau International legal personality 21. MSAR and the MBL limits 22. MSAE and the principle of high degree of autonomy 23. MSAR and lusophony 24. MSAR and the portuguese language

This module discusses (1) managing globally by identifying major geopolitical driving forces; (2) political processes, patterns of public policy and the relationship between politics and business; (3) regional trading blocs and systems of regional integration; (4) latent conflicts, peace and war and political instability, and (5) democracy, democratization and market capitalism.

This module provides a theoretical foundation and a set of practical tools for the development of creative environments, management of innovation, and the change associated with it, both in corporate settings and start-up situations. For the purposes of the module innovation is defined as the profitable commercialization of a new idea: product, market, process, or technology.

This course will prepare students to think strategically about advocacy strategies, leverage points, and resources for change. Students will focus on the nature of power in its various forms (electoral power, issue framing, financial, citizen mobilization, public opinion) and explore how power and resources can be acquired, evaluated, mobilized and deployed in the service of promoting a policy agenda. Students will use a variety of methodologies, including case studies, to learn how to intervene consciously and responsibly in the civic life of communities: elections, budgeting processes, legislative and regulatory processes, and the ways to influence and to marshal public opinion for the common good.

In this module students will explore the conditions that promote viable enterprises and increased employment in the community. Topics include: Principles of Economic Development and Growth (community history and community growth potential, the role of business, labor, & jobs, building sustainable systems, social capital); the Role of Community-Based Institutions (community support organizations, sources of funding); Economic Development Planning (local economic development incentives, building public/private collaboratives); The Economic Influence of Neighborhood and Building Design; and Measuring Economic Growth (data sources, methodology).

Students will study the interaction between the social, natural, and built environments and the ways in which they affect the economic, social and environmental sustainability of communities. Special emphasis will be given to neighborhood and residential environments. This module will be taught by an inter-disciplinary team of instructors.

Students will learn how to promote advocacy through the media and to stage social-marketing campaigns to further goals and objectives commonly desired by a community or communities. We do understand the power of the media in today’s world, and we are aware of the level of sophistication achieved in marketing processes. The combination of both (media advocacy at the social level and marketing at the personal level) can be extremely effective in fostering social change. Great emphasis will be given to ethical issues and dilemmas that derive from the use of these two powerful tools.

This course focuses on the management of social services with an emphasis on how strong management can improve results. Exposes students to management thought and philosophy as applied to different social service and social policy challenges within various operating environments and programmatic settings.

Students will examine moral issues that arise within public organization, such as privacy, government responsibility, rule of law, etc.

Globalization has rapidly become the major topic for social science research, replacing several themes such as nationalism, development studies, dependency theory, and regional/area studies. If the globe is ONE, then social, economic and political theories must abandon the approach of “one country–one case.” The topic of discourse is not the First World against the Third World or how states interact to secure their vital national interests. The globalization theme deals with humankind, i.e. the roughly six billion human beings inhabiting the only planet known to harbor life, and its prospects of survival at its present stage of living standards. This course will also explore the origins and development of globalization, its implications for nation-states, citizenship, cooperation and conflict, culture, and the emergence of new forms of government.

Students will explore the development of global forms of governance through the emergence of international organizations such as the UN, WTO, IMF, the World Bank and others. Emphasis will be placed on the interplay of these organizations with nations, regions, and emerging forms of governance and political activism.

This course introduces the conceptual framework and analytical tools of the “new” institutional economies, which gives a central role to context-sensitive institutions—cultural and social, formal and informal—in the economic development process. It also explores innovative solutions to leading policy issues facing transition and developing countries today such as privatization, decentralization, HIV, the Internet, aid effectiveness, and globalization.

This course examines competing perspectives on “smart growth”, urban sprawl, and community sustainability in an urban, suburban, and rural context. Topics include land-use planning, antidotes to urban sprawl, the intersection of transportation and land-use policies, citizen participation, and how water quantity and air and water quality affect growth.

This course will examine how diversity affects groups, organizations, coalitions, and societies. Students will explore the different notions of leadership when applied to different situations, and the ethical implications of leadership. Focus will also be on the concept of diversity and the challenges involved in leading people, individually and in formal or informal settings, who are inherently diverse.

Students will explore the extent to which mass media in all its forms influence the development of public policy. The ethical, moral and political implications will also be studied using real life case studies.

This course explores the moral issues involved in public policy: the limits and usefulness of decision-making tools; problems of choosing, justifying and using criteria to judge a program’s success and suitability; ethical issues involving the welfare state.

This course will integrate the analysis of macroeconomic, structural, social, institutional and political dimensions of development in the design of an overall development strategy. It will also review the determinants of growth, macroeconomic stability, and income distribution, as well as the effects of fiscal, monetary, financial, trade, investment, and labor policy. The course will also explore the relationship between political institutions and policy problems.

This course examines the role of civil society (churches, civic associations, unions, community-based organizations, NGOs), and business as agents for change and development. Students will also explore the ways in which governments respond to such pressures and opportunities.

This module is a graduate-level seminar class addressing the contemporary issues in international law. The seminar cover three general areas. The first part of the seminar is devoted to general understanding of the international law (the sources, the emergence of new subjects and actors of international law, the fragmentation of the substantives law and the issue of implementation). The second part of the seminar will explore the growing issues raised by the phenomena of globalisation such as the cross-border movement (volunteer or forced movement) of people; the climate changes and the global response; the transnational organised crime (including the terrorism; human trafficking and money laundering); the conflicts and international peace keeping; the role of TNC is human rights violation and finally the recent development of rules to frame international development activities.

The last part will analyse the recent changes in international adjudication system and the emergences of new forms of adjudications and actors.

“While many people claim to be professional or to act in professional ways, there is a growing demand for moral behavior amongst professionals. Ethics in the exercise of legal profession (deontology) refers to the minimum standards of appropriate conduct within the legal profession. This model aims to identify, discuss and put forward a set of professional rules in relation to relationship between clients, judges, notaries, legal practitioners and lawyers. It mainly involves duties that the members owe one another, their clients, and the courts. This course will provide a values-based approach to ethical professionalism and provide a method of thinking about and dealing with ethical issues in the work place. The course will provide a discussion of what a profession is and what it means to act professionally. It will include a discussion of the features of moral reasoning and provide a case resolution method for dealing with ethical issues of the work place. The course will cover in-depth those values central to legal petitioners such as integrity, respect for persons, principle of legality, and responsibility towards the society and towards the clients.

1. Moral and Ethics a. Historical and philosophical comments b. Moral, Ethics and Religion c. Moral, Ethics and Citizenship d. Moral, Ethics, social valuation and political valuation e. Moral, Ethics and State f. Moral, Ethics and Professional Deontology 2. Professional Deontology a. Sources and normative typology b. Conventional and Collegiate c. Legal d. International and Supranational e. Disciplinary power 3. Deontology of the legalProfessions a. Justice, Law and Laws b. Major deontological principles c. Legal Professions and Deontology: Magistrates, Lawyers d. Arbitrators, Notaries and Registrars and Jurists 4. Ethics in state justice and arbitral justice 5. COMPARATIVE LAW: legal and conventional systems of Macau, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Timor and Brazil.

This module has been organized to provide a comprehensive legal/economical understanding on International Organizations. It is a threefold module: Firstly, the key aspects of the International organizations legal theory will be studied and analysed: Introduction to International Organizations Law, IO legal Personality, IO ability to practice legal acts; Implicit Powers; Relations with Member States; Relation with non-Member States; Relation with other IO; IO normative Powers; and IO legal control and oversight. After that, the world will be divided in 7 key areas: Arctic, North America, Central and South America, Western Europe, Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and Oceania. In which area will be studied the economic flows and dynamics and the key regional International organizations. Finally, a set of IO will be studied as a practical and legal application of the two previous chapters. Among them the United Nations, the World Bank, The International Monetary Fund, The ASEAN, The European Union, and other regional IO will be studied.

This module examines the forces converging on education that are shifting views of teaching and learning. It will introduce various frameworks developed to guide educators in preparing students for the 21st century and covers skills to help students learn and innovate. The module is designed to meet the rising demand for creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, digital literacy skills, and innovation.

This module offers an introduction to the concept of diversity, equity, and to an understanding of inclusive education. Students will learn how schools and classrooms can support students with special educational needs. Students will learn how environments, curricula, and pedagogies can be designed and modified to support individuals’ diverse needs and that are aligned with inclusive practices. The module will examine the arguments for inclusive school and evidence for the success of inclusion. Students will learn ways in which the curriculum can be adapted to enable inclusion and treatment needs across the array of special educational needs.

This course examines contemporary cultures of childhood and how they have been shaped by changes in family structure, material conditions and a range of environmental factors that have an impact on children’s lives.

This module aims at developing to be teachers’ skills in the areas of personal, social and humanities education in early years classrooms. Its main goal is to impart knowledge, skills and strategies in building infants’ social, aesthetic, moral, and ethic responsiveness. The syllabus is structured along the lines of knowledge about self, interpersonal competence and communication, infants’ sense of belonging and ability to contribute to social activities in class, family and community-based contexts.

This module will examine the importance of ethics in education with particular emphasis given to ethical issues with direct relevance to classroom teachers and teaching. This will include an examination of the different ethical codes that are applicable in different regions and counties and an evaluation of their applicability to teaching practice in Macau, both now and in the future. Students will also examine the need for professional development as a vital component of effective teaching, given the evolving challenges and demands in education.

The psychological problems of children who have hearing, speech, mental and personality deficits and of children who are culturally disadvantaged are explored, as well as characteristics of children of superior abilities, gifts and talents. A major purpose is to gain a functional understanding of these problems and of the procedures for helping to cope with them. The students are given the opportunity to gain firsthand experience with exceptional children in an observation of a special class in schools.

This module aims to equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to facilitate children’s learning in areas of physical and health education. The module will introduce students to relevant and useful teaching and learning methods to help primary students to acquire fundamental knowledge of life, sports and health, as well as enhance their kinesthetic sense.

Gender is a cultural construct that shapes individual’s lives, in the sense that it influences personal experiences and beliefs. The study of gender interests both psychology and sociology for it is located at the crossroads of these two disciplines. Therefore, both perspectives, psychological and sociological, will be consistently considered.

Students will be exposed to several theoretical approaches on gender differences and gender development, covering biological grounded views, social learning views and cognitive developmental views, among others. Consequences of gender bias and stereotyping in culture, work organizations and media will be discussed. The course intends to (1) contribute to a better understanding of socialization, cultures and policies from a gendered perspective and to (2) encourage students to think critically regarding widely accepted gender roles.

This course focuses on the interrelationships between culture and psychological processes. Students will explore the ways in which culture, and related concepts, such as ethnicity, affect the thinking and behavior of individuals as well as how individual thought and behavior define and reflect aspects of culture. They will look at the development of cross-cultural psychology as a distinctive area of psychology and at the recent attempts by cross-cultural psychologists to devise theories that reflect the cultural, social and developmental, perspectives on behavior. A range of research methodologies used by cross-cultural psychologists will also be explored. The course focuses on the topics of research issues, culture and thinking, culture and self, social behavior, communication across cultures, and mental health.

This module gives students an applied perspective on how to conduct interventions in clinical psychology. Based on the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, it will review the psychological treatments that have been demonstrated to be effective in various groups of disorders. It will give special attention to empirically validated interventions and evidence-based treatments in the areas of depression, anxiety and personality disorders.

In this module students will acquire knowledge about the education of children with special needs, culminating in the contemporary principles of inclusive education. After a review of the principles of inclusive education, the students will learn about the important contribution of the psychologist, as a member of a multidisciplinary team, in the process of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of an individualized educational plan. Special attention will be given to the role of the family and the community in the education of children with special needs, in particular how to access their needs and resources in the process of their transition to adulthood.

This module addresses the role of the psychologist in educational settings as a contribution to the education process and school functioning. Themes will include: assessment and referral; consultancy and advice for teachers and the school administration; workshops and other interventions with the family; development group activities with students (e.g. in social skills, motivation, study skills and emotional competence) and implementing psychological interventions in a school context to address the most important child and adolescent disorders.

This module explores the relationship between social psychology and human behaviour in organisational settings. This interaction between these two disciplines of psychology will be discussed and the relevance of topics such as motivation, teamwork and leadership will be explored and how various interventions can be implemented in the workplace to support organisational aims. The module will also consider how technological influences individual and group behaviour in the workplace and how career planning and personal goals can influence organisational behaviour.

This course module integrates the rights-based approach (RBA), theories, goals, objectives, principles and practice guidelines on community organizing (CO), community-based and community-driven development (CBD) and (CDD) respectively.

It will discuss and differentiate the basic models of community practice and its purposes in twenty-first (21st) century context, such as (a) neighborhood and community organizing, (b) organizing functional communities, (c) social, economic & sustainable development, (d) program development and community liaison, (e) social planning, (f) coalitions, (g) political and social action, (h) movements for progressive change, (i) asset based community development.

Furthermore, this module will also discuss the processes for people empowerment, community profiling, community assessment and community-driven development (CDD) approach.

This course aims at providing fundamental concepts and knowledge in counseling and intentional interviewing. Course contents include: the influence of a counselor’s personality and profession in counseling, ethical issues, micro skills in interviewing and counseling, therapeutic processes, techniques and procedures of different approaches. Emphasis will be made on training students as an effective helper in the aspect of micro interviewing skills and counseling approaches.

This course focuses on the studies of the methods and skills of intervention, and the dynamic use of group process by the social worker working with groups. The foundation of the course is social work values and the ethical decision-making process. The content encompasses both task and treatment groups utilizing an ecosystems developmental framework. The course emphasizes understanding, affirming, and respecting groups with diverse backgrounds. Social work group facilitation is taught utilizing empirically based theories and interventions to achieve client goals. Students will know how to evaluate the effectiveness of group interventions.

This course aims to help students acquire the knowledge base required to identify ethical issues, the skills necessary to resolve ethical dilemmas, and the capacity to make ethical decisions when confronted with conflicting duties and choices that occur within the context of professional social work at all levels of practice.

This course provides students with an understanding of the etiology, types and the demography of persons with disabilities in Macau. It seeks to familiarize students with policies and social services, particularly community-based services, provided to strengthen and support persons with disabilities. It also enables students to understand the needs, problems and adjustment of people with disabilities; and to familiarize students with the methods of assessment, intervention and prevention of disabilities. Approaches in working with both persons with disabilities and their families/carers will be studied.

This course aims to discuss the nature and meaning of deviance, different theoretical framework of deviance, types of deviance, crime as deviance- such as interpersonal violence (i.e. assault and murder, domestic violence, forcible rape, etc.) and non-violent crimes. It shall cover social justice, its theoretical and pedagogical foundation, and teaching the diversity and social justice.

This course will discuss theoretical framework of community practice, contexts, challenges, diverse population and emerging issues for community practice. It will also cover the major approaches and different models of community practice in global and local perspectives.

To address this emerging challenges and issues on globalization, this course will integrate the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will be implemented in the community-based programs and services in Macau, China Regions and other countries. “

This course will discuss the definition and functions of social welfare policy, social problems, theories of social change and factors that triggers social change.

It shall also cover the different national and international policies on social welfare and development that respond and address the emerging challenges, issues and social problems of different clientele groups, vulnerable and people at risk such as children, young people, women, older people, victims of natural and man-made disasters/calamities or emergency situations. It shall discuss the existing programs, services and psychosocial interventions in response to the emerging challenges and social problem in Macau as well as in other countries. Social welfare programs and psychosocial support services are being implemented both at the center-based and community-based settings.

This course module will discuss the theoretical framework on organizational, management and administration of social welfare agencies of the government, non-government organizations (NGOs) and faith-based associations that cater and provide the appropriate programs, psychosocial support services, and interventions in addressing the emerging social problems, challenges and concerns of the various clientele groups, vulnerable, maraginalized, abandoned, neglected and people at risk.

Medical Social Work (MSW) addresses the emotional, social and financial needs that frequently accompany health care issues.

The roles of MSW as case managers, counsellors and advocates, providing patients and families/carers with the psycho-social and non-medical support needed to deal with acute, chronic and terminal conditions will be discussed.

The majority of MSW work in hospitals but this module will also emphasize the community-based services and residential care facilities.

This course aims to introduce and discuss the conceptual framework for social protection systems, the role of social work in social protection systems, the role of social services and its implementation. It shall also discuss the social protection policies as indicated in the UN Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).

It shall cover and analyze the existing social protection programs of other countries, social protection index and assessing the results for Asia and the Pacific, Africa and Europe.

This module provides a foundation to the study and practice of education. Key figures and ideas in the field of education will be elaborated before an exploration of how various concepts and themes in education inform teaching in a range of contexts. The module will then provide an overview of the different characteristics and needs of learners and how these interact with the role of teachers. In addition, the nature and purposes of education and its relationship with wider society will be explored as well as an examination of current controversies in educational theory and practice.

This course is focused on the practical aspects of providing counseling and psychotherapeutic services to clients. The course covers a variety of practical skills, such as empathic listening, dealing with client anxieties and general case management. The course covers how to develop strong person-to-person relationships with clients, at the same time being ever mindful of the professional responsibilities of counselors and psychotherapists. Other practical issues such as resistance, transference, confidentiality and conflicts of interest will also be covered. This course will also explain the ethical principles and issues that relate to the work of counselors and psychotherapists, giving students a sound basis on which to make ethical decisions and how to educate the client about their rights.

Stress is becoming an increasing problem in all aspects of everyday life, especially in the workplace. This course covers the psychological and sociological basis of stress, including the causes and forms of stress. The course explains how stress can lead to feelings of frustration and the sometimes destructive effects stress can have on personal well-being, relationships and health. An individual’s perception and subjective appraisal of the causes of stress are critically evaluated within the context of the individual’s personality and life circumstances. Techniques of modifying an individual’s behavioral responses to stress are reviewed along with strategies for coping and minimizing stress. The course will explore more severe cases of stress including burnout and post-traumatic stress disorder. The course also covers the effects of stress on physical health and practical approaches to health improvement such as nutrition.

Addiction comes in many forms, from drug addiction to addiction to video games, gambling or the internet. The consequences of addiction both for the individual client and for their family and friends can often be hugely destructive. Addictive behavior, like most human activity, is a learnt behavior, and the principles of both classical and instrumental conditioning will be explored during the course in relation to addiction. The course will also explore measures of “impaired control” in addiction and in clinical interventions, such as desensitization and aversive conditioning. Students will gain an understanding of how certain addictive behavior, for example gambling, is strongly related to the structure of the addictive activity. These structural features along with different personality traits provide the seeds for the development of addictive behavior. As well as an understanding of the basis of addictive behavior, the course will also cover the different therapeutic approaches used to modify and eliminate such behavior. This includes techniques based on stimulus control, counter-conditioning as well as more cognitive approaches.

This course further develops the practical aspects of providing counseling and psychotherapeutic services to clients. The course will provide students with genuine, real-world experience of counseling and psychotherapy, both as a practitioner and as a client. To be an effective counselor or psychotherapist, it is important to learn and understand yourself, to be aware of how your life history has shaped your own opinions and even prejudices. During this course students will undergo a number of sessions of personal counseling within which they will have the opportunity to critically evaluate themselves in the structured context of a counseling session. For this we plan to work together with the Catholic Family Advisory Service and other organisations to allow the students to experience counseling and therapy from the ‘client’s point of view’. We believe that this understanding is a vital component of a prospective counselors training and development. The second component of this module will provide the students with real experience of listening to different individual’s problems, feelings and difficulties, and to provide them with appropriate advice and guidance. We plan to utilize our links with Caritas in Macau to provide access to ‘real’ clients initially over the telephone help lines that Caritas operate within Macau. Throughout this module students will meet to share and discuss their experiences with one another and with IIUM staff, to provide support for students and to facilitate the learning experience afforded by their real-world experiences.

This module provides an overview of Macao’s social, demographic and economic developments. It aims at understanding Macao as a bridge between Western and Chinese cultures, and how this historical path has influenced educational policy and practices.

Analysis of the purpose, ends, and means of education and schooling is central to the module. Through lectures, readings and debates about Macao education laws and regulations it is hoped that participants will enhance their ability to understand the ultimate goals of education.

Emphasis will be placed on the development of students’ academic success, well being, and moral and citizen development. The impact of globalisation on education will also be examined, namely through the information and communication technology.

This module aims at understanding the rationale of Macao’s Special Education Law with the purpose of developing inclusive schools. The participants will acquire knowledge and skills in curriculum, teaching and assessment differentiation for diverse learners. Topics considered include discussing cultural beliefs affecting policy implementation, parent-school communication and collaboration, resourcing issues, and the development of good practices in inclusive education. Participants will be made acquainted with the role and responsibilities of the special education resource teacher, and with the role and responsibilities of the school management team in promoting and monitoring inclusion in school settings. The rationale for home-school cooperation and the various types of home-school cooperation will be focused.

The module provides an introduction to the range of instructional strategies available to teachers working with pupils identified as gifted and students with learning disabilities or impairments.

The participants will gain knowledge about the development, characteristics and needs of gifted students, as well as students with learning disabilities. Issues such as the provision of appropriate challenge, motivation, social interaction and emotional well-being will be examined. Particular attention will be given to the promotion of social skills and peer relations.

The module also provides an overview of likely primary causes of learning disabilities, and examines several types of disability such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia. Specific support strategies and interventions for pupils with learning disabilities are addressed.

The module will focus on current research about Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), namely Autism Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome and other Pervasive Developmental Disorders as to increase students’ awareness of its causes and characteristics.

It examines several types of physical and sensory disabilities and / or impairments and their various categories. Participants will gain knowledge and skills to develop strategies for early intervention and to provide resource-based assistance to support effective participation of the identified pupils in the school and the society.

Classroom strategies for the inclusion of pupils with sensory impairments such as blindness, deafness, visual/hearing difficulties are also examined.

In this course, it introduces the improvement about the quality of work life, protection and promotion of the safety, health, and well-being of workers and the families. Also, it explores the reseach in contempary industrial/organizational psychology, health psychology, and occupational health. In addition, application of researches in Organisational Psychology will be implemented.

This course provides a framework of analyzing and formulating social policy in the current political, economic and social environment in local context. It examines the roles and processes in social policy and the translation of policy to social service delivery in bringing about social welfare. By understanding how and why social policies develop, students learn to analyze policy and think critically about the use of policy for intervention in the social welfare sector.

Students will become familiar with the roles of government and non-government organizations in implementing social policies. This should further the understanding of the development of welfare services to meet the needs of the vulnerable groups in the context of rapid economic and social change.

In view of the demographic change and aging trends in Macau, it is of importance to contribute new and effective solutions that are sensitive to the needs of older adults, their families and the communities at large. Not only do we aim to achieve optimal independency of older adults at the individual and family levels, we also aspire to foster an age-friendly environment in the community and organizational levels.

This course examines aging as natural processes of human growth with emphasis on the psychological and social aspects of aging. This course also explores the changes in demographic structure, and seeks to familiarize students with policies and social services provided to strengthen and support elderly in Macau.

This course provides students with an understanding of the etiology, types and the demography of persons with disabilities in Macau. It seeks to familiarize students with policies and social services, particularly community-based services, provided to strengthen and support persons with disabilities. It also enables students to understand the needs, problems and adjustment of people with disabilities; and to familiarize students with the methods of assessment, intervention and prevention of disabilities. Approaches in working with both persons with disabilities and their families/carers will be studied.

The roles of social workers in a multi-disciplinary team and rehabilitation services will be examined. At the policy level, social workers as advocates will be studied.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health is a state of emotional, psychological and social well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. (WHO, 2014).

This course module will discuss and focus on trauma and mental health aspects for those social workers who are exposed and working in various settings such as community mental health centers, public health, behavioral health care agencies, consumer advocacy organizations, inpatient and outpatient units of primary health care settings, residential programs, psychiatric rehabilitation centers, geriatric and hospice centers, government and non-government organizations/agencies of health and mental health, humanitarian agencies (i.e., local and international) serving the different clientele groups of people. It is essential that social work practitioners must learn and envision excellence in current and future directions of mental health services, practices and policies here in Macau as well as in other countries.

This course module will discuss the nature and extent of drug/substance abuse / addiction as global health problems and in Macau contemporary society. It will provide its etiology, theoretical framework of addiction, cycle of addiction, models of addiction, different kinds of addiction, addictive behavior or behavioral addiction and co-dependency. Furthermore, the social worker’s role and responsibilities in the preventive, treatment and rehabilitation, recovery, relapse prevention and after-care programs and services for the drug users / addicts will be covered in this course module.

As a result of the rapid economic growth and development of Macau, the Mainland and Hong Kong, Macau has experienced dramatic social and demographic changes. It is foreseeable that cross-border marriages and single-parent families will come to represent a significant proportion of families in Macau. As families are increasingly under stress, more proactive family policies and services are required to meet the challenges ahead.

This course explores the changes in family structure and functions, and seeks to familiarize students with policies and social services provided to strengthen and support family life in Macau. The roles of social workers in family services will be studied. Policies and services (at macro level) as well as models of therapy (at micro level) will also be discussed.

This course is a survey of Christian understandings of war, peace, and revolution from the time of Christ and the early church to the present. Emphasis will be placed on the way in which theological convictions in the areas of Christology, pneumatology, eschatology, ecclesiology, and so on, have shaped Christian Teaching on the nature of peace and the permissibility of using violence. Cases will be used to examine certain aspects of just war theory, with the purpose of addressing the question: is just war theory applicable to warfare in the era of the modern nation state? Other issues discussed will include the military chaplaincy, the role of Christian churches in mobilizing for war, and the use of violence in revolution. Texts will include: Reinhold Niebuhr, Moral man and immoral society; John Howard Yoder, Christian attitudes toward war, peace and revolution: A companion to Bainton; US Catholic Bishops, The challenge of peace, and others.

Students will explore issues and patterns of the sociology of religions, namely: macro-theoretical perspectives; definition and typology of religion; theories on the origin of religion; psycho-sociological dimensions: taxonomy of experience and of religious behavior, religious conversions to sects and churches, theories of the maintenance of religious behavior; macro-sociological dimension: religion and capitalism, religion and social integration, secularization; religious experiences in East Asia.

This course is an exploration of current issues facing the Catholic Church and other Christian communities globally. Possible topics to be included are: north-south political and economic tensions, post-colonialism and globalization, religious and cultural pluralism, the environmental crisis, contextualization/inculturation, Christian unity and ecumenism. Contemporary debates and developments will be treated in view of their biblical, historical, and theological backgrounds. The realities of the Church in the Two-Thirds World will be considered. Voices from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific will be primary sources. Pastoral implications for Christian leadership with global perspective will be stressed.

This course will explore changing views of Christian mission in the post-modern, post-colonial age. Different understanding of mission, including evangelism, development, social justice, presence, inter-religious dialogue, and church-growth will be considered in their historical contexts. Sources will include major western mission thinkers and voices from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific.

Behind everything we do is our belief that it is worthwhile, that means, we attach to it in different degrees of importance or value. Axiology (from Greek: axios = value, worth; logy = study, reasoning) is concerned with the nature of value and delves into the difficulty in determining value, that is, to find out what is good and bad in our lives, or better and worse, just and unjust, beautiful and ugly and how that impacts on human behavior in ethics (decisions, choices, actions, etc.) and in value judgments concerning aesthetics. Since the concept of value permeates our life, the inquiry into claims, truth, and validity of value judgements (= axiology) is a necessity of life itself.

Concerning ethics (moral philosophy), this module is a general, systematic assessment of major ethical systems. In addition to teleology (e.g. utilitarianism, ethical egoism), deontology (e.g. Kantian ethics, Divine Command Theory), and virtue ethics traditions (Aristotelian, Neoaristotelianism), students will be exposed to Confucian thought and specifically Thomistic perspectives on virtue and natural law. In keeping with the ancient foundations of the discipline of ethics (moral philosophy) and its central concerns, the proper study of ethics goes beyond abstract considerations of right and wrong conduct, just and unjust behavior and institutions (structures) to encompass inquiry into what constitutes “the good life” or the life worth living. A special focus will be given to the relevance of the Christian tradition on value judgments, moral questions and ethics.

The course aims at developing a useful attitude for observing what is going on in society, leading to more informed decision making by understanding societies. After a few exercises showing how we are embedded in social settings and naming major factors that shape societies, a presentation of various sociological schools and trends will invite students to broaden their vision of society by understanding of different points of view with a positive critical appreciation of them. Then a review of sociological tools will be followed by short experimentation of sociological research. Students will also explore issues related to the field of sociology of religion, like the role of religion in societal development, secularization, religious liberty and freedom etc.

This module offers students a historical and systematic approach of the developments in social and political philosophy and how they shape Ancient and Modern China, European and North American social, political, cultural and economical structures, and to a certain extents other countries in Asia. The course also intends to stir reflections on the social and political praxis, on moral correctness, social relationships and so on. Conditions and principles of a just and sustainable society (locally, nationally, globally) are presented and analyzed, based on the inalienable human dignity of human persons and the relevance of the common good for a harmonious development of human societies.

The module Environmental Philosophy and Ethics focuses on relationship of humans with the natural environment. While numerous philosophers have written on the meaning of nature and natural philosophy throughout history (Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Rousseau, Locke, Marx, Merleu-Ponty, Heidegger, Rawls, etc.), environmental philosophy and ethics only developed into a specific philosophical discipline in the 1970s. This emergence occurred due to the increasing awareness in the 1960s of the effects that technology, industry, economic expansion and population growth were having on the environment.

In this module we will apply philosophical methodologies to different areas of human life in both global and local scales, including but not limited to worldviews and dialogue, professional and applied ethics, education, media and cultural studies, bioethics and environmental ethics. Historical cases as well as up-to-date global and local social issues will be discussed and analyzed, in an attempt to formulate practical suggestions. Emphasis will be put on the necessity of interdisciplinary approaches.