Capstone Entrepreneurialism is designed as an intensive, multi-dimensional and integrative course to provide UCR students with in-depth understanding of the theoretical, methodological and practical aspects of Entrepreneurialism, as well as some public policy dimensions.
The aim of Capstone Entrepreneurialism is to allow the students to:
- develop an in-depth understanding of the most important models, frameworks and tools in the area of Entrepreneurialism, and their application in Business Entrepreneurship and Social Entrepreneurship,
- recognise the complexity, challenges and risks that are inherent to the entrepreneurial process,
- understand the specific characteristics of the Entrepreneurial Mind-Set, and eventually develop an Entrepreneurial Mind-Set,
- recognise the impact and importance of Entrepreneurship for economic growth at regional and national level,
- evaluate critically an entrepreneurial undertaking,
- apply Entrepreneurship concepts and tools in real business cases in the area of Business Entrepreneurship and/or Social Entrepreneurship, and possibly in a real company context,
- get acquainted with a real start-up community and eventually get involved in research or practical assignment in some of the start-up companies or other organisations in province Zeeland,
- develop an in-depth understanding of the critical factors for success in Entrepreneurship and illustrate them with a review of several case studies in the area of Business Entrepreneurship and/or Social Entrepreneurship.
- Teacher: Rossitza Rousseva
This course is an introduction to Latin American social Theory. In the last two decades Latin America thought has been the locus of important innovations to understand global reality from a non-eurocentric perspective. In this way this course contributes to expose students to the epistemic diversity of the world.
The participants will also see how different is the social and political landscape in Latin America from the one that prevails in Western Europe and the US. They will be able to address important global social problems in relation to feminism, ethnic and ratial discrimination, social destitution, etc..
Latin American social scientists are unsatisfied with social theories that have emerged in Europe and North America, as these are of little use for explaining social developments in Latin America. Concepts such as 'globalization', 'world economy', 'modernity', 'human rights' and 'power' have come into question in Latin American political and academic practice. Contemporary Latin-American Social Theory e brings to light that there are systems of explanation that seem to be more appropriate for understanding what is happening in Latin America and the World.
The course draws on the material of prominent Latin American social thinkers that have been devoted to the task of building up alternative knowledges, alternative histories and alternative politics. This course on Latin American Social Theory provides different ways of looking at social reality. Thus it is expected that the participants in the group will extend their horizons of thought and enrich their interdisciplinary training.
- Teacher: Rolando Vazquez Melken
The rights and obligations associated with relationships and interactions
among persons (including legal persons such as corporations) are largely determined by a variety of
fields of law known collectively as private law. This course introduces students to principles of
selected fields of private law, and students examine closely substantive
principles in the fields of property law, tort law, contract law, family law, remedies,
unjust enrichment, and private international law. The overarching principles
within each of these subject areas are illuminated using a comparative law
approach.
Image: Contract Sealed with Blood (Blood Oath), Bertalan Szekely 1896-97, public domain
- Teacher: Jason Dinse
What makes Geography different from other disciplines? The concept of space is the answer. This introductory course is intended to inspire students to think spatially – from global phenomenon to local issues. This course will introduce eleven types of sub-disciplines of Human Geography, which are Economic Geography, Development Geography, Environmental Geography, Urban Geography, Rural Geography, Population Geography, Cultural and Social Geography, Transport Geography, Health Geography and Historical Geography. It covers so many sub-disciplines of Human Geography in order to help students grasp the diversity and excitement of the subject.
It is a long tradition for Human Geographers to raise questions about spatial inclusion and exclusion and come up with solutions. By focusing on effects of economic, social and cultural developments on human and spatial behaviours, students in this course will understand the way how Geographers comprehend the world by analysing the spatial distribution of human activities on the planet.
By exploring the multi-faceted relationships between people and the world they inhabit, this course will show students how the planet is increasingly inter-connected and how people and places are differentially positioned. To illustrate this, we investigate a series of topics including development, environmental movement, new innovations over transport and so forth and so on. We examine these topics through a combination of lectures, group work and presentations.
- Teacher: Sam Wong
The definition of what is a mental disorder is very complex and there is no universal agreement about it. Abnormal Psychology is concerned with the elements that influence mental health and its disorders across the individual life span. It considers the implication of a broad variety of aspects in life that can be combined in a complex way to promote and maintain mental health, or to contribute for the settlement of a mental disorder.
Taking as basic principle the importance of the bio-psycho-social approach of the human being, the primary objective of this Abnormal Psychology course is to explore the main subjects of the field, and to help students to become familiar with its vocabulary, key concepts, theories and research findings. Another objective of the course is to promote the development of critical thinking in the field, and to prepare the students to be cautious and analytical consumers of information on matters related to mental health and its disorders. A third goal of the course is that students can understand better the risks of certain factors for the promotion and maintenance of people's mental health and well-being, and this knowledge can favor the achievement and preservation of their own wellness, as well as the wellness of others related to them privately or professionally.
- Teacher: Elizabeth Wiese - Batista Pinto
This course serves as a general introduction to public international law as a field of study and a professional discipline. Designed to provide students with a foundational knowledge of the creation and the historical evolution of the subject, the course is broadly divided into three parts. The first part deals with general principles of international law such as its sources, subjects, and organization. In the second part, the focus shifts to specific domains including the regulation of the use of force, humanitarian law, international criminal law, human rights law, and international economic law. The final part broaches certain questions regarding the politics of international law such as the rise of soft law and diverse types of legal commitments, compliance, enforcement, monitoring, Third World Approaches, and fragmentation.
The general purpose of the course is shed light on some of the most important questions of international law both from a formal legal and a social science perspective. The assignments include a presentation on a landmark case, an exam, and a final research paper. The course covers the same material as ‘Introduction to Public International Law’ at Utrecht University.
- Teacher: Moritz Baumgärtel
This course covers social psychological theories and research regarding social cognition, social perception, self-knowledge and self-justification, attitude change, conformity and obedience, group dynamics, interpersonal attraction, pro-social and anti-social behavior, and social judgement. It covers also applications of social psychology to work, law, politics, community development and health.
- Teacher: Eri Park
In this course, people’s behavior in organisations is studied from a multidisciplinary perspective. Due to the importance of the course content for students who opt for an M.Sc. in psychology, particular emphasis is put on the role played by psychologists in the analysis and solution of organizational problems. Individual, group and organizational levels of analysis and intervention are included in covering such topics as perception, communication, motivation, emotion and mood, learning, individual effectiveness & development, team and group development and performance, work design, creativity, intergroup behavior, organizational development and change, leadership, management, management of change, and human resource practices. The materials applicable to all of these subjects are too vast and numerous to be fully covered in one course; but the course is designed in such a way that a number of these subjects are covered profoundly, while for others the surface will be scratched deep enough so that students will (hopefully) become motivated to pursue in-depth learning in the respective areas on his/her own.
Three levels of behavioral and organizational theory and analysis will be studied. The first level is about making sense of the individual's role in organizations. This is the micro level of analysis. Individuals are the basic unit of organizations. Most work in organizations is done in groups with individuals playing instrumental roles in creating solutions to organizational problems or causing organizational failures and risks. Questions to be raised include: what characterizes individuals and what motivates an individual’s behavior. Organizations are made up of groups of individuals (workgroups, teams, departments, divisions, business units. etc.). This is the meso level. With reference to this, group processes/group dynamics will be studied and the interaction between leaderships styles and group functioning. The third focus of organizational psychology is put on what is referred to as the macro level. Issues of organizational formation (design), culture, change, development and learning are all part of the organization-as-a-whole.
As a future professional, it will be helpful for you to understand your own ability to make changes happen in organizations, and to lead groups to find solutions, deal with risks and learn from failures. Throughout the course you will be given the opportunity to discover which leadership skills you appreciate in others, learn about your own leadership skills and develop reflective practitioner skills.
- Teacher: Eri Park