Italy

The course introduces a range of both theoretical and practical issues encountered by researchers when planning and carrying out studies involving atypical populations. The course attempts to integrate diverse research topics and explanatory models within a broader framework of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in order to demonstrate how challenging might be an effective end-to-end research process. The introductory sessions present the theoretical background and seek to highlight different methodological aspects (from participants recruitment to ethical issues in practice) driving the research in this field. The second part of the course focuses on critical discussions of current research works in the field, with particular attention to cognitive and emotional aspects in educational settings. The course discusses topics including research on atypical child development in educational settings; an overview of main approaches and explanatory models of atypical development; research methods in atypical development: from participant recruitments to ethical issues in practice and practical (clinical/educational) implications of results; critical evaluation of different research techniques according to studies aims and settings; individual and environmental risk vs. protective factors in atypical development; and cognitive and emotional research topics in atypical populations (specific learning disorders, ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Disorders). The course requires students to have basic knowledge of typical developmental psychology and research methods as a prerequisite.

This course is intended to develop the linguistic skills of students who have completed the first year of Italian. It reviews basic grammar structures with emphasis on exceptions; it enriches vocabulary, reading comprehension, and argumentative skills on different kinds of texts, improving comprehension and conversation through the discussion of contemporary issues proposed by the instructor. Students approach longer and more complex argumentative texts of which they are asked to identify the main points. They comment on articles or reports on contemporary issues in which authors express points of view and opinions. In oral tests and group discussions, students are asked to take a critical stance on given texts, debating pros and cons of different points of view. They also research various aspects of Italian daily life, interviewing Italian people and reporting back to the class. They can understand discussions on concrete and abstract topics and follow conversations between native speakers. All four abilities (writing, speaking, listening, reading) are developed, also with the support of authentic audiovisual materials such as Italian movies, short videos, tv programs, and songs. The course uses a communication-based approach: students engage in daily role-plays, group activities, games, and class discussions. Out of class activities are designed to take advantage of the opportunities for interaction and language practice, as well as immersion in Italian culture, that the city provides.

The course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by consent of the instructor. This course examines the history of women and gender relations in contemporary times. Through lectures and critical reading of original sources, the course develops the emancipation process and construction of female citizenship on both a social and then political level. In particular, the crucial issues of the relationship between historical women's associations and neo-feminisms through the last decades of the twentieth century are addressed, in a framework of national and transnational comparison.

The course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program and students are permitted to take the course with instructor consent. Commerce and art collide in the film marketplace every day. Is there a line between business and art, content and promotion, the bottom line and award accolades? This course explores the reality behind big budget art. The course details the life of two fundamentally different products: the independent and studio film. From concept inception to final net revenue reality, the course investigates basic aspects of development, finance, production, marketing, and distribution by investigating two roles 1) indie producer and 2) studio executive. The course focuses on the history of the U.S. production distribution studio machine as the primary market maker that has recently shifted towards international distribution and streaming. It provides an overview of the history of film from a business perspective, outlines the basic terminology of filmmaking development, finance, and production, and outlines indie to studio structures. The course also focuses on the major tools of the marketing executive, their budget, partnership structures, and the essence of timing media for film campaigns.

The course is part of the LM degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course reviews the political landscape of food and farming development in developed and developing countries. Policy initiatives by national governments can operate in coordination or conflict with private companies and corporations, international organizations, NGOs. At the end of the integrated course the student is able to: identify the different stakeholders operating the food and farming sectors; understand and evaluate objectives, policy instruments, and strategies that characterize an agricultural policy; identify public policies that address food waste prevention and reduction in developing and developed countries; to outline sustainable food and farming policy options, the implications of these policies for institutions, and their potential impacts on the food system; to analyze the policy formation and implementation processes in different countries, and evaluate costs and benefits of sustainable food and agricultural policies.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. This course identifies the major categories of inherited diseases, the genetic mechanisms contributing to disease etiology, and their inheritance patterns. The course describes strategies to identify the genetic causes of inherited diseases. The course discusses the use of genomic data and technology in the management of inherited diseases and innovations in human genomic research and their applications in medicine. The course evaluates research articles pertinent to medical genomics. The course discusses topics including sequencing the human genome; medical genetics; identification of disease genes; Mendelian diseases; chromosomal diseases; multifactorial diseases; and pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine. Students design and perform experiments of molecular genetics, including PCR and direct sequencing using Sanger method, and evaluate the presence of variations/mutations in human DNA and their role in Mendelian disorders. The course is divided in two parts: a wet-lab course, where the students prepare PCR and sequencing reactions, and a part using informatics tools, including public programs and databases, in order to analyze the obtained sequences and evaluate the presence of variants/mutations and determine their possible pathogenicity.

This is an laurea magistrale course and is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course introduces students to the emerging field of urban studies in connection to climate change issues. The principle topics covered include the relationship between two global driving forces: urbanization and climate change; different theoretical and methodological tools used to understand, manage, and deal with the transformation of cities facing climate; and different approaches that promote more sustainable and resilient forms of urbanization and urban life. Climate change and unprecedented planetary urbanization remain two of the most urgent issues of our time, reshaping societies. Climate change has worldwide implications - from the exacerbation of urban inequalities, to the loss of environmental, social and economic security. In this regard, sustainable urbanization has moved more and more to the forefront of policy agendas and research. The course uses several theoretical approaches and empirical studies, and focuses on the forms and impact of urbanization processes; how climate change impacts different social groups in our urban systems; and post-carbon cities: adaptation and mitigation strategies being currently implemented.

With an emphasis on Italy, this course focuses on the looting, destruction, and reselling of antiquities, from classical antiquity to today. Together students consider issues such as what constitutes an art/cultural heritage crime, how ideas of value (both real and symbolic) have emerged historically and how have they changed over time, what constitutes "ownership" in the eyes of different entities, and how this has changed over the past fifty years, resulting in the current difficult and controversial issue of the repatriation of cultural artifacts which have crossed international borders. Themes considered include the history of collecting, illegal excavation and the illicit trade in antiquities, the role of auction houses, the Church, museums and galleries, ownership and patrimony issues, international laws and agreements, recovery and repatriation, and ongoing problems with the protection and conservation of antiquities. The course concludes with a review of cultural heritage laws and the current international situation, as well as a discussion identifying challenges and providing suggestions for regulating the market of antiquities in the future. The course includes visits to relevant sites and museums in and around Rome and includes the close investigation of actual case studies throughout.

This course illustrates how Operations and Supply Chain Management can be managed to properly deal with health, social, and environmental issues and how to transform such a challenge into a source of competitive advantage. The course focuses on specific topics related to the Triple Bottom Line and to the Circular Economy paradigms, by linking sustainability concepts with the product life cycle, from its design, manufacturing, distribution, and possible end-of-life recovery options. The teaching style of this course is consistent with its learning goals and is based on case discussions, group work, real examples, and on the interactions with guest speakers from companies that are coping with these issues. During the course, topics are analyzed moving from real-life case-histories, so as to make the students aware not only of the technicalities related to sustainability in Operations and Supply Chain Management, but also of the most valuable experiences of companies and of industries that are leading the process toward a more sustainable operating system. Topics covered include: mega trends and competitiveness; synergies between profits and sustainable practices in Operations Management; design for environment; sustainability and vendor selection; sustainability and production; lean management and six-sigma; sustainable logistics, transportation, and packaging; reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chains; sustainability and performance measurement.

The course presents the structure of European and US financial markets and discusses the rules and principles that govern trading and price formation in the most advanced electronic trading platforms and auction markets. The course discusses how to trade securities on electronic order book markets like the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana, Nyse-Euronext, NASDAQ, NYSE, or alternative trading systems (lit and dark pools). During the course, students participate in a trading simulation game prepared to practice real-time trading in the market. The course covers: market microstructure and research objectives, trading process, continuous vs batch auction, orders and order properties, market participants and the role of market makers, market structure, trading sessions (call and continuous auction markets), execution systems (order-driven, quote-driven, and hybrid markets), trading rules for order driven markets, price formation, matching rules, guidelines for price monitoring, price discovery, circuit breakers and market crashes, pricing and trading fees (make-take vs symmetric pricing structure), algorithmic trading, and high frequency trading (HFT), regulatory debate (U.S. and Europe) on dark liquidity, tick size, trading fees, and closing auction volume.