MAST 678/881 Statistical Data Analysis

Offered: 2018 /2
Credits: 3

This course aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to the SAS analytic software for Windows. Through a mixture of lectures and in-class examples and exercises, students will gain experience using the SAS system for data management and analysis. Emphasis will be placed on the skills and techniques necessary for efficient data management and analysis. It is designed for students with little to no background with SAS. Students must have an understanding of the basic statistical concepts.

Prerequisites: STAT 360 (or an equivalent course on linear models) and a course on statistics.

Special instructions: This course will be relevant to students who wish to analyze their thesis data using SAS (as an alternative to SPSS or R). As the course is entirely devoted to data management and analysis using SAS, students must have previous knowledge of hypothesis testing and statistic (including regression models). 

Contact: Lisa Kakinami

PHIL 609 Advanced Topics in the History of Philosophy: Dante and Philosophy

Offered: 2018 /2
Credits: 3

Dante was not a professional philosopher but he was seriously engaged with philosophy and this engagement was essential to his work as a whole. Moreover, Dante (1265-1321) lived at a very special time. This is the time when Aristotle’s philosophy and science were made available for the first time to the Latin West. For the above reasons, we will read selections from the Convivio and Divina Commedia. We will try to reconstruct Dante’s philosophical outlook, which is an eclectic form of Aristotelianism tempered by an infusion of Christian thought.

Special instructions: Knowledge of Italian or Latin is not required to do well in this class. However, willingness to engage in close and attentive reading of complex works as well as ability to do independent research outside class are absolutely essential to your success in this course.

Course may of interest to students in English, CMLL, and Italian Studies.

Contact: Emma Moss Brender

Note: Priority will be given to students in the Political Science PhD and MPPPA programs. Interested students must obtain permission to enroll from the professor.

POLI 683/POLI 815 - Democratic Governance, Public Policy & Research Methodology

Offered: Summer, Fall, Winter (2017, 2018, 2019)
Credits: 3

This course provides a unique opportunity for students to take a selection of the Workshops on Social Science Research (WSSR) offered by the Department of Political Science for credit.

The WSSR are intensive short learning experiences designed to enhance your knowledge and skills in the areas of democratic governance and public policy. These workshops are led by highly reputable and insightful guest lecturers from well-known academic institutions and/or well-qualified and distinguished backgrounds. For this course, you must select, register in, and attend six workshops, as well as complete all the requirements listed in this outline below.

Prerequisites: Graduate students from all faculties are welcome to take the WSSR for credit. Be sure to consult with your Graduate Program Director (GPD) in order to confirm that you are eligible to receive credit toward your degree. Please email confirmation of eligibility from your GPD to wssr@concordia.ca once you have completed and submitted your "Permission Request" form (see below). See a list of Concordia GPDs and GPAs.

Special instructions:

• To apply for permission to register for this course, students need to complete the Permission Request Form on the website.
• To earn credit for this course, students will select, register in, and attend six days-worth of workshops (9:00am-4:30pm). The listing of workshops can be found on the website.
• For information about how the course works, download the course outline.

PSYC 727 Circadian Rhythms in Regulation of Brain Processes and Role in Psychiatric Disorders

Offered: 2018 /1
Credits: 3

Recent studies have revealed that clock genes are rhythmically expressed throughout the brain and play critical roles in the regulation of normal brain processes.
Current evidence suggests that circadian rhythms regulate short and long-term synaptic plasticity in neural circuits that underlie rhythmic behaviors, including respiration, blood pressure, cortisol, and locomotor activity, among others. Despite the evidence that circadian rhythms are involved in the regulation of several neural processes and in turn behaviors, this topic has not been extensively studied thus far, and there is much that is not known as to how and why circadian rhythms regulate such processes. Although mammalian circadian rhythms are controlled predominantly by the suprachiasmatic nucleus, recent advances made in this field on the emerging roles of clock gene rhythms across brain regions have suggested that the circadian system is involved in brain region specific regulation of cell activity and specific behaviors. Furthermore, recent studies have suggested a critical role of the circadian system in several disorders, including major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, stress regulation, age related cognitive deficits including Alzheimer’s disease, eating disorders, drug addiction, and alcoholism. The impact of circadian rhythm disruption on cognitive function, mood, and cardiovascular health, in populations of shift. workers and frequent travelers, may also be due to underlying effects of circadian disruption on synaptic plasticity.

The aim of the seminar is to discuss recent advances in the role of the circadian system in normal brain functions and psychiatric disorders.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following: 

• Recent advances in our understanding of peripheral brain oscillators
• Clock gene regulation of neuronal function including synaptic plasticity
• Circadian rhythm abnormalities in mood disorders and psychotic disorders
• Circadian disruption and health in shift workers and frequent travelers
• Role of circadian rhythms in cognition and aging
• Circadian rhythms in regulation of reward processes and addiction
• Interactions between the circadian system and stress response system

Prerequisites: Some background in behavioral neuroscience and/or biology

Contact: Shimon Amir