" In analyzing fiscal issues, conventional public finance approaches focus mainly on taxation and public spending. Policymakers and practitioners rarely explore solutions by examining the fundamental problem: the failure of interested parties to act collectively to internalize the positive externalities generated by public goods. Public finance is merely one of many possible institutional arrangements for assigning the rights and responsibilities to public goods consumption. This system is currently under stress because of the financial crisis. The first part of the class will focus on collective action and its connection with local public finance. The second part will explore alternative institutional arrangements for mediating collective action problems associated with the provision of local public goods. The objective of the seminar is to broaden the discussion of local public finance by incorporating collective action problems into the discourse. This inclusion aims at exploring alternative institutional arrangements for financing local public services in the face of severe economic downturn. Applications of emerging ideas to the provision of public health, education, and natural resource conservation will be discussed."

Rube Goldberg is famous for his very complex machines that accomplish everyday tasks. Students will design and build a Rube Goldberg machine that will accomplish a simple task in no less than ten steps.

Treatment of electromechanical transducers, rotating and linear electric machines. Lumped-parameter electromechanics of interaction. Development of device characteristics: energy conversion density, efficiency; and of system interaction characteristics: regulation, stability, controllability, and response. Use of electric machines in drive systems. Problems taken from current research. Alternate years. 6.685 explores concepts in electromechanics, using electric machinery as examples. It teaches an understanding of principles and analysis of electromechanical systems. By the end of the course, students are capable of doing electromechanical design of the major classes of rotating and linear electric machines, and have an understanding of the principles of the energy conversion parts of Mechatronics. In addition to design, students learn how to estimate the dynamic parameters of electric machines and understand what the implications of those parameters are on the performance of systems incorporating those machines.

Simple machines are devices with few or no moving parts that make work easier, and which people have used to provide mechanical advantage for thousands of years. Students learn about the wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw and pulley in the context of the construction of a pyramid, gaining insights into tools that have been used since ancient times and are still important today. Through numerous hands-on activities, students imagine themselves as ancient engineers building a pyramid. Student teams evaluate and select a construction site, design a pyramid, perform materials calculations, test a variety of cutting wedges on different materials, design a small-scale cart/lever transport system to convey building materials, experiment with the angle of inclination and pull force on an inclined plane, see how a pulley can change the direction of force, and learn the differences between fixed, movable and combined pulleys. While learning the steps of the engineering design process, students practice teamwork, creativity and problem solving.

In this media-enhanced essay from NOVA Online, you can learn about the atmospheric conditions that drive weather on Earth. A complex interplay of heat, air, and water generates wind and related manifestations that ensure that no two days will ever have the same weather. Grades 9-12

Real-time interactive computing- or the prevalence of the personal computer- may well be the hallmark of contemporary society. But how did we get here? This module will investigate various challenges, both intellectually and technologically, that were eng

Students investigate the ways in which ancient technologies six types of simple machines and combinations are used to construct modern buildings. As they work together to solve a design problem (designing and building a modern structure), they brainstorm ideas, decide on a design, and submit it to a design review before acquiring materials to create it (in this case, a mural depicting it). Emphasis is placed on cooperative, creative teamwork and the steps of the engineering design process.

The Professor And Pat series consists of free computer technology ebooks for the absolute beginner which teach technical subjects by telling a story. Read how Pat learns about the Von Neumann architecture, machine language, and assembly language from Pat's friend the professor and use the same programming tools that Pat uses to develop your own programs.

" The science essay uses science to think about the human condition; it uses humanistic thinking to reflect on the possibilities and limits of science and technology. In this class we read and practice writing science essays of varied lengths and purposes. We will read a wide variety of science essays, ranging across disciplines, both to learn more about this genre and to inspire your own writing. This semester's reading centers on "The Dark Side," with essays ranging from Alan Lightman's "Prisoner of the Wired World" through Robin Marantz Henig's cautionary account of nano-technology ("Our Silver-Coated Future") to David Quammen's investigation of diseases that jump from animals to humans ("Deadly Contact")."

Students apply the mechanical advantages and problem-solving capabilities of six types of simple machines (wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw, pulley) as they discuss modern structures in the spirit of the engineers and builders of the great pyramids. While learning the steps of the engineering design process, students practice teamwork, creativity and problem solving.