UC Irvine features two new courses

Lauren Ellermeyer
Citizen Correspondent

IRVINE, Calif. (January 14, 2009) – The University of California, Irvine today added two new courses to its renowned OpenCourseWare (OCW) Web site, “White Collar Crime” and “Science from Superheroes to Global Warming.” The courses enhance UC Irvine’s already impressive library of materials and resources currently provided free of charge to learners around the globe via the Web site, https://ocw.uci.edu/courses/.

“We are pleased to announce the offering of these new faculty-developed courses as part of our OpenCourseWare Web site,” says Gary W. Matkin, Ph.D., dean of Continuing Education at University of California, Irvine. “Dr. Henry Pontell and Dr. Michael Dennin are considered thought leaders in their respective fields of study, and OCW provides a venue for the University to provide free and open access to their cutting-edge undergraduate and graduate courses.”

The addition of “White Collar Crime” and “Science from Superheroes to Global Warming” underscores UC Irvine’s ongoing commitment to advancing the OpenCourseWare (OCW) movement, by fostering the free and unfettered sharing of University-level knowledge.

“OpenCourseWare was inspired by the notion that knowledge and education should be openly and freely shared, and that by doing so human knowledge, creativity and social welfare will be advanced,” continues Matkin. “We are proud of every step we are able to take to further this important movement.”

An Insightful Look at White Collar Crime

The content for “White Collar Crime” mirrors that of the course taught as part of the University’s first fully online master’s program, “Master of Advanced Studies in Criminology, Law and Society.” Created by UC Irvine criminology professor and leading expert on white collar crime, Henry Pontell, Ph.D., “White Collar Crime” addresses the scope of this type of crime, its causes and its devastating effects on society. “At a time when economies and countries are reeling from the consequences of not just unregulated, but fraudulent activity at banks, this course is very timely. In addition, the course is the same elective course that, until now, only a graduate student seeking a UC Irvine Criminology, Law and Society masters degree would be able to access” says Pontell.

Learners who view “White Collar Crime” at https://ocw.uci.edu/courses/ will find information on the following timely topics: organizational, occupational, environmental, medical and computer crime; unsafe products; institutional corruption; securities, corporate, consumer and fiduciary crime; crimes by the government; and political corruption. Among other awards and honors, Pontell is a recipient of the Albert J. Reiss, Jr. Distinguished Scholarship Award from the Crime, Law and Deviance Section of the American Sociological Assn. and the Donald R. Cressey Award for lifetime contributions to fraud detection and prevention from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the largest group of anti-fraud professionals in the world.

Learning More about Science, from Superheroes to Global Warming

The second new course, “Science from Superheroes to Global Warming” mirrors the curriculum of UC Irvine’s Department of Physics and Astronomy undergraduate course and freshman seminar and was developed by Michael Dennin, Ph.D., a current UC Irvine professor of physics, and a leading researcher in the area of non-equilibrium dynamics. In this free online course, also available at https://ocw.uci.edu/courses/, students will learn to define scientific terms, evaluate the use of numbers in an argument, explain simple functions and algebraic expressions, assess whether arguments follow the scientific method, prove a qualitative analysis of a physical situation in terms of fundamental scientific principles, identify if a particular question can be answered by scientific methods, as well as design and execute a “simple” scientific experiment.

“If you have ever wondered if Superman could really fly, then this course is perfect for you. The course features case studies drawn from a wide spectrum of people’s experience, for example superheroes, movies, and real world issues such as global warming, to provide learners with the opportunity to develop a better appreciation for science and the scientific method,” added Dennin. Dennin’s “Science from Superheroes to Global Warming” course has been highly publicized and he is now promoting his new book, co-authored by Dr. John White, titled, “Science Appreciation: Introduction to Science Literacy.”

About UC Irvine’s OpenCourseWare Initiative: The University of California, Irvine was the first University of California campus—and West Coast University—to join the OCW Consortium. UC Irvine’s membership in the OCW Consortium is consistent with its public- and land-grant missions and its desire to play a significant role in contributing to the social welfare of the state, the nation and the world. Open educational resources (OER) showcase the University’s high quality education and makes courses and course materials free for everyone in the world. UC Irvine’s OCW is a large-scale, Web-based resource that houses educational assets that are discoverable, searchable, modifiable, and, best of all, free and easily available. Through the OCW Movement, UC Irvine provides university-quality courses and learning assets to populations of self learners that are underserved and in many cases, unable to participate in formal education at a university. This site also offers access to UC Irvine’s online continuing education offerings. For its leadership of the OCW movement, University of California, Irvine has been identified as one of the top 10 providers of free online courses. The ranking, published by Education-Portal.com, recognized UC Irvine for providing high-quality, university-level courses, free of charge, to learners around the globe. For more information about UC Irvine’s OCW initiative, visit https://ocw.uci.edu/ or e-mail ocw@unx.uci.edu.

About the University of California, Irvine: The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 27,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,400 faculty members. The second-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.3 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.