The latvian academy of culture

Requirements for the Acquisition of the Credit Points: Participation at seminars, submitted written work, a passed examination.

Literature:

1. 
   Babbie, Earl R. 1989. The Practice of Social Research. 5th ed. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
   
2. 
   Wagenar, Theodore C., Babbie, Earl R. 1992. Practicing Social Research.: Guided Activities to Accompany The Practice Of Social Research. 6th ed., Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
   
3. 
   Kromrey, Helmut Empirische Sozialforschung: Modelle und Methoden der Datenerhebung und Datenauswertung. 3.ūberarb. Auflage – Oplanden: Leske und Budrich, 1986
   
4. 
   Friedrichs, Juergen Methoden empirischer Sozialforschung 14. Auflage – Westdeutscher Verlag, 1980.
   
5. 
   Berger, Horst, Jetzschmann Horst Der Soziologische Forschungsprozess (Methodologische und methodische Aspekts). Berlin: Dietz Verlag, 1973
   
6. 
   Stewart, Dawid Focus groups: Theory and practice. California: Sage Publ., 1990.
   
7. 
   Atteslander, Peter Methoden der empirischen Sozialforschung. Berlin, NY: Gryter, 1975.
   
8. 
   Fink, Arlene How to Conduct Surveys.: Sage Pubn., 1985.
   
9. 
   Parsons, Talcott Sociological Theory and Modern Society. 1967.
   
10. 
    Socioloģisko pētījumu metodoloģija, metodika un tehnika. R.:1981
    
11. 
    Яковенко Ю.И., Паниотто В.И. Почтовый опрос в соцциологическом исследовании. Киев: Наукова Думка, 1988
    
12. 
    Методы сбора информации в социологических исследованиях. Ред. В. Г. Андреенков, 2 ч. 1990.
    
13. 
    Ноэлъ, Элизабет Массовые опросы M.: Прогресс, 1978:
    
14. 
    Бутенко, Ирина Анкетный опрос как общение социолога с респондентами. М.: Высшая школа, 1989
    
15. 
    Метод интервью и достоверность социологической информации. 1975
    
16. 
    Паниотто В.И. Качество социологической информации. Киев: Наукова Думка, 1986.
    
17. 
    Интерпретация и анализ данных в социологических исследованиях. М.: Наука, 1987
    
18. 
    Ядов В.А. Социологические исследования: Методология, Программ,а Методы. М.: 1983
    
19. 
    Рабочая книга социолога. Отв. Ред. В.Г.Осипов, М.: Наука, 1983
    
20. 
    Шаленко В.Н. Программа социологических исследовании. М.: 1987
    

The Name of the Course: Ecology
The Scope of the Course: 32 academic hours (26 hours of lectures, 6 hours of seminars).

2 credit points. The form of assessment – an oral examination.

The Author of the Course: Ass. Prof. Ināra Adolfa, Dr. Chem.

Preconditions for the Acquisition of the Course: Acquisition of sciences at the level of secondary school.
The Contents of the Course: The course ensures that the students acquire the basic questions in ecology. The basic principles of the interaction of live nature and the environment are scientifically motivated, the preconditions for the balance of this interaction and the consequences of destroying the ecological balance are explained. Questions of moral nature are also explored. The objective of the course is to give knowledge in ecology, develop ecological culture and ecological awareness, help to understand the current ecological situation on the Earth, its causes and prevent their negative influence.
Thematic Planning:

Theme	Week	Type of Classes and Hours
The subject of ecology. Ecological education and upbringing. Ecological awareness. The division and history of ecology. The characteristic features of the current ecological situation. Ways of the solution of ecological problems: the development of public spiritual values and the achievement of a cardinal change of the world outlook as the main principle.	1.,2.	2L,2S
The components of ecosystems: the animate, inanimate and their interaction. Biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere. The animate organisms and their specific role. Life and its origin. Natural selection. Live ethics on evolution.	3.,4.	4L
The environment and ecological factors. The biosystem and the environment. Abiotic, biotic and anthropogenic ecological factors. The common regularities of environmental influence. The characteristic features of ecological factors and dynamics.	5.,6.	4L
Flows and cycles. The flows of energy, substances and information. Ecosystem: a dynamic being. Energy in natural ecosystems. The Sun radiation and its importance in life processes. Photosynthesis. Breathing. Food chain. The tropic structure of an ecosystem. The biogeochemical cycles. The flow of information. The meaning of reflexive signals in the flows of energy and substances.	7.,8.,9, 10.	6L,2S
The teaching about biosphere. The notion of biosphere. The cosmic role of biosphere. The cosmic mechanism. The levels of organization in biosphere. The stability and evolution of biosphere. Life and its role. Biosphere and noosphere. The development of noosphere. The opinion of live ethics on life, noosphere and the cosmic mechanism. The problems of anthropoecology.	11.	2L
Organisms in ecosystems. The cybernetic system of an ecosystem. The influence of animated organisms upon ecosystem. The population and its characteristic features. The structure and dynamics of population. Biological entity and its variety. The mutual interaction of the populations in a biological group. Relationships between the members of a biological entity. Ecological niche. Succession.	12.,13.	4L
Natural ecosystems. The common features of natural ecosystems. Water ecosystems. The meaning of water, light and different gases in the existence of ecosystems. The animate organisms of water ecosystems. Ocean ecosystems and their role. Coral reefs. Lake ecosystems, their types and zones. The ecosystems of rivers and river mouths. Land ecosystems and their difference from water ecosystems. The types of biomes and life in them. Conclusion. Natural ecosystems: complex systems, their “state of health” and their future expectations. The preservation, protection and renovation.	14.,15., 16.	4L,2S