Even if you feel confident using English in everyday situations, studying in English at higher education level might present extra challenges. This unit provides an opportunity for you to reflect on your English language skills through a series of academic exercises.

Hibernation is an ingenious adaptation that some animals employ to survive difficult conditions in winter. This unit examines the differences between hibernation and torpor, and discusses the characteristic signs of hibernation behavior It explores the triggers that bring on hibernation, and whether internal signals or external season cues are predominant. It also examines the physiological adaptations that occur in hibernating animals.

Successful transitions - whether from lower secondary to upper secondary; at age 16; into work-based training or university; or into work at any age - are life-enhancing for individuals and crucial to our future social and economic well-being. They are also an indicator of a good school. Careers education and guidance (CEG) is therefore at the heart of a school's personal development program and all teachers have a role in securing successful transitions for their students.

Human resources consultancies have become invaluable to businesses looking for improvements and efficiencies in their operations. This unit explores the issues surrounding how you might go about selecting and using a consultant, examining the risks involved in the venture, fitting the consultant to the task, setting fees and evaluating work. If you are in business and looking to hire a consultant, are a consultant yourself or are studying business at masters level this unit will be useful to you.

Climate change is a key issue on today's social and political agenda. This unit explores the basic science that underpins climate change and global warming.

Computers and processors are ubiquitous in everyday life, and they're not only found in your PC. This unit introduces the different parts of computer systems and their use of binary code. Using the examples of kitchen scales, a digital camera and a computer artwork the unit, with the help of flowcharts, discusses how computers process data and instructions.

Motion is vital to life, and to science. This unit will help you to understand why classical motion is probably the most fundamental part of physics. You will examine motion along a line and the ways in which such motion can be represented, through the use of graphs, equations and differential calculus.

Why is the way something looks important? Text, color, images, moving images and sound all interact to produce a user friendly environment within a user interface. This unit will help you understand the effect each software component has on the user and explain how a consistent and thoughtful application of these components can have a significant impact on the 'look' of final product.

Engineering is about extending the horizons of society by solving technical problems, ranging from the meeting of basic human needs for food and shelter to the generation of wealth by trade. This unit looks at the impact of changes in temperature on a variety of objects and looks at the problem of boiling water.

Engineering is about extending the horizons of society by solving technical problems, ranging from the meeting of basic human needs for food and shelter to the generation of wealth by trade. Engineers see the problems more as challenges and opportunities than as difficulties. What they appear to be doing is solving problems, but in fact they are busy creating solutions, an altogether more imaginative activity.

The use of grammar is more complex than it appears. This unit looks at the way grammar can be used as a tool for adapting our communications (both written and spoken) in ways which present us and our message in different lights.

In this unit, we describe the theory of evolution by natural selection as proposed by Charles Darwin in his book, first published in 1859, On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. We will look at natural selection as Darwin did, taking inheritance for granted, but ignoring the mechanisms underlying it.

The 'Big Bang' is said to be the origin of our Universe. This unit will help you to comprehend what happened in the moments immediately after the Big Bang and during the initial cooling period. You will also gain an understanding of how this event turned in to the Universe we live in today.

This Unit will introduce you to a number of ways of representing data graphically and of summarising data numerically. You will learn the uses for pie charts, bar charts, histograms and scatterplots. You will also be introduced to various ways of summarising data and methods for assessing location and dispersion.

Graphs are a common way of presenting information. However, like any other type of representation, graphs rely on shared understandings of symbols and styles to convey meaning. Also, graphs are normally drawn specifically with the intention of presenting information in a particularly favorable or unfavorable light, to convince you of an argument or to influence your decisions.

This unit will help you to identify and use information in business and management, whether for your work, study or personal purposes. Experiment with some of the key resources in this subject area, and learn about the skills which will enable you to plan searches for information, so you can find what you are looking for more easily. Discover the meaning of information quality, and learn how to evaluate the information you come across. You will also be introduced to the many different ways of organising your own information, and learn how to reference it properly in your work. Finally, discover how to keep up to date with the latest developments in your area of interest by using tools such as RSS and mailing lists.

This unit will help you to identify and use information in maths and statistics, whether for your work, study or personal purposes. Experiment with some of the key resources in this subject area, and learn about the skills which will enable you to plan searches for information, so you can find what you are looking for more easily. Discover the meaning of information quality, and learn how to evaluate the information you come across. You will also be introduced to the many different ways of organising your own information, and learn how to reference it properly in your work. Finally, discover how to keep up to date with the latest developments in your area of interest by using tools such as RSS and mailing lists.

How do financial markets match providers with users, and how efficiently does the market determine prices? Can investors rely on notoriously volatile stock markets to function efficiently? It can be difficult to determine whether successful investments are a matter of skill and luck. In this unit, you will interrogate whether markets can function efficiently, and what factors might militate against this. You will also learn the importance of the Efficient Markets Hypothesis.

The landscape of the British Isles has undergone dramatic changes during the history of the Earth, from shallow sea to desert to the familiar terrain of the 21st century. In this unit you will explore the processes that have shaped the British landscape over time, gaining insight into the geological evolution of the entire planet.

Day-to-day monitoring of a project is essential to ensure that work is progressing according to the plan, and it will often be necessary to review and revise the plan as circumstances change. This unit will introduce some of the key techniques that help managers to monitor and control projects, and consider what approaches work best in particular circumstances.