Italy

This course focuses on the principles of micro-economic analysis, particularly, the concept of economic rationality as it applies to individuals and firms, and the analysis of how price and quantity are set under different market structures. Moreover, students are introduced to topics addressed in more detail including the form of utility and production functions, and rational decision making and intertemporal choice in the face of uncertainty. Implications for the behavior and organization of firms is highlighted throughout. The course covers 5 topics: introduction to the concepts of market and economic rationality, consumer theory, market equilibrium, producer theory, and the concepts of externalities and public goods.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. At the end of the seminar the student obtains good knowledge of the Italian grammar and good abilities of oral exposure and writing. The student is able to make appropriate linguistic choices in every kind of communicative situation. The student is be able to understand the academic Italian in relation to the degree course and to actively participate during the lessons. The seminar is structured in the following activities: improvement of Italian grammar and language; analysis of literary texts and essays, and reading and analyzing in Italian language; improvement of the oral exposure (comprehension and production); production of "professional" writings (self-presentation; letter of reference; institutional e-mail; presentation of cultural projects; and papers and essays); and comment and analysis of books, movies, shows and art exhibitions. Students must have completed the equivalent of two or more years of university-level Italian language study as a prerequisite for this course.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. This course focuses on advanced and comprehensive knowledge of the main, up-to-date econometric methods for the analysis of economic and financial time series data. In terms of inference techniques, emphasis is given to up-to-date bootstrap methods. The course discusses how to analyze the application of advanced econometric models to economic time series data, and how to implement and make use of proper (asymptotic and bootstrap) inference methods in dynamic environments. The course is divided into two parts: part I introduces stylized facts of financial time series and conditional volatility models including estimation, inference, and applications; and part II discusses asymptotic and Bootstrap inference in time series.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. At the end of the course, students know basic numerical methods for evolutive ordinary and partial differential problems, together with their main theoretical and computational properties. In particular, students are able to analyze the properties of numerical methods; constructively examine corresponding computational results; advance their scientific computing education in higher level courses; and employ the acquired numerical skills in a variety of application areas. The two main topics covered are: 1) numerical solution of Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs): Initial Value Problems; and 2) numerical solution of ODEs: Boundary Value Problems.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. The course aims to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the complex phenomenon of climate change, as well as an understanding of the main interdependencies between the economic and political aspects and the local, supranational, and global dimensions. At the end of the course, students are able to: a) identify the main consequences on some areas of the economy, society, and international politics; b) describe the origins and evolution of international agreements and programs aimed at addressing the problem of climate change; c) understand the impact of climate change on different regions/areas of the world; and d) critically analyze the effects of climate change on political and economic development, with particular attention to the impact on poverty. Course contents include: an introduction to development and climate change; observed and projected impacts of climate change; climate change diplomacy: history and development of international climate change agreements; climate change mitigation; vulnerability to climate change and adaptation; climate action in the context of the Sustainable Development Agenda; and climate justice and equity: intergenerational and gender perspectives.

This course develops an understanding of the basic concepts and issues related to the scientific study of human sexuality. This includes basic genital anatomy, sexual function and dysfunction, the biology and neuroscience of sexual response, social and relational aspects of human sexuality, and treatment of sexual dysfunction. Emphasis is placed on what we do and do not understand, and what future research is needed to fill the gap. The course discusses topics including: sexual anatomy, models of sexual response (e.g., Master & Johnson model, Basson’s model, the Dual Control Model, etc.), sexual function and dysfunction (with a reference to the DSM-IV and DSM-5), development of sexuality and sexual identity (with a focus on sexual orientation and gender identity), and research tools to investigate human sexual response (fMRI, EEG, photopletismography, physiological tools, etc.). The course recommends students have a basic understanding of psychological concepts and research as a prerequisite.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. The course provides in-depth knowledge of European legal foundations, their origin in Roman law, and their subsequent development in Common law and Civil law. Under this framework, the Roman Law's heritage in modern legal systems is investigated, working backward in search of the common legal bases on which the harmonization projects in the European law lays on. In this context the course investigates the persistence of rules and principles of roman law in the present system, working backward in search of the common legal bases that are the basis of the unification of the private projects in contemporary law. At the end of the course, students understand the roots of the European legal traditions, and in particular, they the legal rationale of institutions such as contracts and obligations and their differences under various national contexts.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. The course discusses the fundamental principles of the relational data model and of the relational database management systems. In particular, the course examines the structure of a relational database, the integrity constraints on data, and the SQL query language. Course contents include: data modelling, database management, language to query databases, and data analysis.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. This course explores the main theories, concepts, and approaches developed by social studies of science and technology (STS), and analytically compares them and discusses their pros and cons. The course examines basic issues about the materiality of and governance by data infrastructures, and their social and philosophical implications. Students develop experience in designing research on data infrastructures. Throughout the course, interactive moments are devoted to developing empirical research design skills, ranging from research question design to research methodologies. Such moments are finalized to support the STS research design to be submitted as part of the course assessment. The last week of the course focuses on data infrastructures and addresses some sociopolitical implications of data infrastructures. All topics are tackled by reading, presenting, and commenting on leading international literature and empirical case studies.

This course provides a systematic review of the basic principles, models, and methods of Psychophysiology research. The association between body and mind is scientifically analyzed by studying cognitive and emotional processes, and considering both physiological and behavioral variables, measured using electrophysiological and neuroimaging techniques. As much as possible, practical (brief) training sessions in the psychophysiology lab are carried out. The course discusses topics including an introduction to functioning principles and methodology of psychophysiological research; biosignal classification, and their application as marker of psychological processing; activation and resting state: peripheral and central (i.e., EEG and fMRI) indices; cognitive activation in healthy adults; and application of psychophysiological techniques to clinical research: evidence from studies on neurological and psychiatric patients. The course requires students to have an adequate knowledge of cognitive processes and anatomo-physiological bases of the central and peripheral nervous system as a prerequisite for the course.