University of Bologna

This is a semester-long course organized by the UCEAP Bologna Study Center that offers students a chance to practice and improve oral communication skills in Italian. The course is open to all students. Small groups are organized to accommodate all linguistic levels - from beginners to advanced. The course is taught by experts in the field of language acquisition. P/NP grading only.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program and is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course focuses on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its strategic implications in terms of: sustainability of business models; the need for innovative managerial paradigms based on stakeholder engagement and cooperation; measurement of the economic, social, and environmental impact of business activities; life cycle assessment; strategic planning of the United Nations 2030 agenda; and communication and reporting methods. The course focuses on the application of these topics to companies, public administrations, and non-profit organizations. The course is divided into two portions, closely linked and integrated: the institutional portion examines the theoretical and methodological bases of CSR, with specific references to the international framework, documents produced by the OECD, and the relationship with social innovation. The course introduces students to the most up-to-date methodologies in the design and development of corporate CSR and accountability systems. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between CSR management systems, communication, and a company's external relations. The monographic portion of the course focuses on the relationships between corporate CSR, environmental sustainability, and consumer demand for ethical and environmentally friendly products and services. It also highlights new service experiences related to corporate welfare and emerging concepts of local social responsibility. Case studies are presented in relation to companies with significant and innovative experiences of CSR, capable of determining managerial evolutions and organizational improvements in a company's managerial structures and in its relationship with the market. A specific section of the course is dedicated to the relationship between CSR, social and environmental sustainability, and circular economy. The final portion of the course is dedicated to designing corporate and local CSR systems capable of producing effective changes in the external perception and communication of businesses. The aim of projects and experiments is to closely and effectively link social and environmental sustainability in businesses. 

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program in Economics. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course is intended for students who have a strong background in economics. The course focuses on corporate and investment banking activity, with particular attention on venture capital and private equity financing. Topics covered include: investment banking, private equity, venture capital buyouts, structured finance, the venture capital cycle (fund-raising, screening and valuation, deal structuring, monitoring, divestment), financial tools needed to evaluate investments, and financing decisions in high-growth potential firms. Required Reading includes: OPTIONS, FUTURES, AND OTHER DERIVATIVES by J. Hull. Assessment in based on a written in class final exam. Students are offered the option of solving a case study and delivering the solution to the instructor as an additional optional assignment. Students are required to solve the case study as a group.

This 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 how in different historical moments ranging from the 16th century to the end of the 20th century some of the most renowned Italian thinkers have figured out the people and the multiple facets this notion has assumed in modern politics. In doing so, this course also explores some important specificities of modern Italian history, society, and culture. After a short methodological and theoretical introduction that provides some basic elements and concepts to frame the overall issue, the course is structured in four parts. The first part of the course focuses on Niccolò Machiavelli’s ideas on popular republic and civil principality, and Giovanni Botero's theories on the reason of state intended as a tool for achieving a firm domination over peoples through a careful government of the population. The second part of the course discusses the way in which 19th century writers such as Giacomo Leopardi and especially Alessandro Manzoni represented the Italian people and envisioned the role of literature in the development of a modern and national consciousness in the aftermath of the French Revolution. The third part of the course discusses Antonio Gramsci's analysis of the shortcomings of the Italian process of national unification and its efforts to reckon with the emergence of modern mass societies and develop new strategies aimed at the involvement of the subaltern classes in political life. The final part of the course examines the critical positions of contemporary thinkers such as Mario Tronti and Giorgio Agamben, who have both challenged the image of the people intended as a unitary and homogeneous political subject in one case from a heterodox Marxist viewpoint, in the other from a biopolitical perspective.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Students will know the effects of global climate change on key organisms, biodiversity, and ecosystems, particularly on marine species, including the effects on human societies and economies. Models and forecasts are presented considering different scenarios predicted by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Students will know how organisms interact, as components of the structure and function of ecosystems, including the consequences of human interactions with the environment. Marine organisms are traced from the Earth’s primordial oceans, to their response to the warming and acidifying oceans.

The course content is divided into two modules:

MODULE 1: 

• Conflicts and Security Risks of Climate Change in the Mediterranean Region - Projections and Impacts of Future Climate Change in the Mediterranean; Impact of Climate Change on Water Supply and Water-Related Conflicts; Consequences for Food Security; Population and Migration in the Mediterranean; Human Security, Environmental Conflict and Climate Adaptation; Energy Security as Field of Conflict and Cooperation; Political and Economic Frameworks for Cooperation in the Mediterranean.
• Socioeconomic Aspects: Human Migrations, Tourism and Fisheries - Coastal Commercial Fisheries and Aquaculture; Tourism; Migrations.
• Ecological and evolutionary considerations regarding corals in a rapidly changing environment - Comments on the Evolution of Corals in the Atlantic Versus the Pacific Oceans; Climate Change, Changes in the Oceanic Climatic Zones, and Their Effects; Comments on Evolution of the Immune System in Corals.
• Coral population dynamics - Ecological modes in corals; Why study population biology?; How to model population dynamics?; The introduction of an age-based population dynamics model into coral reef ecology: the Beverton and Holt model; The case study of mushroom corals at Eilat; Correlations between demographic characteristics, environmental parameters, and implications with climate change; Relationships between growth, population structure and sea surface temperature in temperate solitary corals; What about calcification and temperature?; What about non-zoox corals?; Zoox coral versus non-zoox coral; The Panarea underwater crater: a laboratory for the study of ocean acidification and warming effects; The ocean acidification; Calcifiers and ocean acidification; Coral biomineralization and calcification; The Panarea transplant experiment; Long term effects of acidification on growth of corals naturally living along a pH gradient.

MODULE 2:

• Strategies of acclimatization to ocean acidification in Mediterranean corals - The carbon dioxide volcanic vents of Ischia Island; Community shifts at Ischia Island; Impact of ocean acidification on the morphology of non-zooxanthellate corals; The problem of age determination in colonial organisms; Impact of ocean acidification on polyp and colony growth in non-zooxanthellate corals; Different acclimatization strategies to ocean acidification in zooxanthellate vs non-zooxanthellate corals; the impact of ocean acidification on coral-associate microbial ecosystems.

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. The course focuses on the principles of chemistry and how they apply to the behavior of solid states. Special attention is placed on electronic structure, chemical bonding, and crystal structure. The course discusses topics including amorphous and crystalline solids, symmetry, lattices, and silicates; bonding in solids, ionic solids, the role of ion size, Shannon-Prewitt model for ions, transition metal compounds and non-bonding electron effects, crystal field theory, and band model for metals and semiconductors; crystal defects and non-stoichiometry, role of point defects in diffusion in solids, ionic conductivity, and some important solid-state electrolytes for batteries and fuel cells; catalysts for polymer production: radical initiators, Ziegler-Natta and metallocene catalyst in polyolefin production, branching in polyethylenes: origin and influence on polymer properties, and catalysts for step-growth polymerization: transition metals in polyester production; biobased and/or biodegradable polymers: production, properties, and main applications; chemisorption and activation on transition metals, interaction models based on HOMO-LUMO, and examples of relevant industrial applications: CO activation; carbon based materials, conducting polymers, structure, and properties, materials for secondary Li-based batteries, anodes, cathodes, and electrolytes, Li-ion vs Li metal batteries, fuel cells, materials for anodes, cathodes, electrolytes, and bipolar plates, proton conducting polymers for fuel cells electrolytes, fullerenes and fullerides, synthesis and properties, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and their application in polymer nanocomposites; and layered solids, layered double hydroxides, clays, and their modification to improve the compatibility with polymers, preparation of polymer nanocomposites using organoclays, flame retardant properties of LDH and organoclay based polymer nanocomposites.

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. Students learn the conceptual foundations to understand the interactions between natural and social systems in globally changing urban landscapes (terrestrial, freshwater and marine), and gain analytical basic urban-ecology tools to be applied in urban monitoring, planning, and restoration. The students are introduced to urban areas as novel ecosystems, and learn about the unique ecological conditions and functioning of cities and waterfronts, the environmental challenges and opportunities of a sustainable urban development, and the principles and strategies for biodiversity conservation, restoration and management in a human-modified context. They are introduced to ecosystem services concepts and how to use them in an interdisciplinary analysis. They also learn the direct and indirect effects of human impact with particular attention to freshwater ecosystems as Highly Modified Bodies (WFD 2000/60/CE definition). Students obtain the ability to read and understand articles in the field of urban ecology, sustainability and restoration science, to synthesize and communicate interdisciplinary research, and gain insight on how to identify appropriate solutions for urban planners, policy makers, and managers. Students also get the opportunity to develop a field-work proposal for a restoration project in an highly modified area. Course topics: principles of urban ecology and the concept of novel urban ecosystems; unique (man–made) ecological conditions of urban ecosystems– land (and sea) use cover; urban climate and the heat island effect; changes in the physical environment (soil/sediment properties, hydrological processes and (sea)water characteristics); impacts of pollution, noise, artificial light and electromagnetic fields; patterns of urban biodiversity and controlling factors– impacts of urbanization on biodiversity and changes in biodiversity along urban-rural gradients; losers and winners in urban habitats, homogenization and the susceptibility of urban ecosystems to species invasions; effects of altered disturbance regimes; habitat transformation, fragmentation and loss in urban land/seascapes, altered connectivity, and dispersal barriers and corridors; ecosystem functions and services in urban landscapes- urban biodiversity and ecosystem services; valuing the role of natural ecosystems in flood risk reduction and nature-based adaptation; ecosystem management options to enhance resilience of society and the environment to future climate conditions; principles of sustainable urban development–urban footprint, sustainability, and governance-related challenges in urban environments; natural capital and strategies for biodiversity conservation; indicators of environmental quality in urban environments (e.g. the city biodiversity index, the Ocean health index, etc.); management of multiple stressors and stakeholders; bioengineering, multifunctional blue/green infrastructures; conservation and restoration in an urban context; ecological concept from natural to modified freshwater ecosystems structure and functions, impact of human activities; HMWBs and AWBs (highly modified and artificial water bodies) in the Water Directive WFD (2000/60 EU); reservoirs and dams–impact and benefit; ecosystem services of natural versus modified rivers within sustainable development strategy; the blue imprint of cities and water scarcity; monitoring of HMWBs and AWBs: hydromorphology and biomonitoring; biodiversity conservation in HMWB and AWBs; multifunctional natural infrastructures; Common European implementation strategy on HMWBs; restoration of HMWBs and AWBs; Navile and canals of Bologna: opportunity to develop restoration proposals.

The first part of the course is introductory and provides the general outlines of the historical development: political, economic, and social of the European continent, as well as of the interaction and circulation of peoples and of the international relations between multinational states and nation-states, from the second half of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century, focusing in the final part also on the processes of European institutional and economic unification. A second part is devoted to an analysis of the early postwar period in Europe, which saw profound political and institutional crises, a new geopolitics on the continent with the emergence of new states, and a phase of revolutions and counterrevolutions in which political violence and social conflicts took on particular magnitude. Starting with Wilsonian proposals and the decisions made at Versailles and imposed by the peace treaties, attention goes to the crisis of democracies, the rise of a new internationalism and trans-nationalism, and communism, and the rise to power of fascism in Italy. On the centenary of the March on Rome, the course takes a close look at 1922 in Italy and at the long repercussions of that historical event on the continent. In addition to an examination of the most recent historiography, the course focuses on sources and especially on analyses, reconstructions and memories relating to fascism's seizure of power written by contemporaries, both opponents and protagonists of the early fascist movement, in the 1920s and 1930s.