Conceptualizing the Variables That Shape the International Student Experience in Higher Education

The period since 1990 has been marked by an accelerated pace of globalization. As a consequence, the challenge of acculturation has been more noticeable than earlier periods, where migration occurred among more similar populations. The recent migration includes the highest levels of international student exchange, with the US being the top destination. Literature on globalization, multiculturalism and diversity in higher education does not address why institutions of higher education offer different resources and programming to their international students. Interviews conducted with educational administrators at three small liberal arts colleges in the United States, with review of documents made available to the researcher by the colleges, form the core data that is analyzed and compared to interpret the approach each institution takes toward mediating international student challenges. The thesis examines the data collected at each college to identify and explain how: 1.) student agency, 2.) awareness and understanding, and 3.) organizational structure and alignment, affect 4.) the institutional resources and programing made available to international students at college. Finally, a conceptual model, based on an analysis of the data is developed to explain how the interaction among these four variables, in turn, determines the outcomes and experiences of international students in college. The model is presented as a tool for the analysis of institutional variation in addressing international student challenges, as well as for improving resource development and programming at institutions of higher education

tDCS e TMS confronto tra metodologie di stimolazione transcranica

Lo scopo di questo elaborato di tesi è di effettuare un confronto tra due diverse tecniche di stimolazione transcranica non invasiva, la stimolazione magnetica transcranica (TMS) e la stimolazione transcranica a correnti dirette (tDCS). Prima di entrare nel dettaglio delle due tecnologie verranno illustrati gli elementi di base del sistema nervoso centrale, quali la generazione e la propagazione degli impulsi nervosi, al fine di comprendere come le stimolazioni andranno ad intervenire sugli stessi, e la suddivisione delle varie aree cerebrali al fine di comprendere di cosa si occupano e dove sono le aree di indagine di queste metodologie. Per entrambe le tecniche di stimolazione verranno raccontati gli sviluppi storici che hanno portato al loro utilizzo e i principi fisici su cui si basano i loro funzionamenti. Di seguito verranno illustrate le diverse strumentazioni tecnologiche, per poi analizzare diversi ambiti applicativi in cui esse sono coinvolte e i limiti che ogni tecnologia presenta. Per concludere verranno analizzate analogie e differenze sui diversi piani delle due metodiche

New cue-conflict experiments suggest a leading role of visual cues in the migratory orientation of Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca

Migratory birds use both geomagnetic and celestial cues to select and maintain their seasonally appropriate migratory direction. The integration of the different compass cues is still poorly understood. Previous cue-conflict experiments suggested that Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca did not recalibrate their magnetic compass against the polarization pattern at twilight, but the available evidence is problematic given the high variability of birds’ directional preferences. We performed a new set of cue-conflict experiments where (1) we modified the protocol in order to try to reduce scatter of data and (2) we integrated the results of two experimental approaches, i.e. orientation cages and releases of radio-tagged birds. Pied Flycatchers were tested in Emlen funnels without access to celestial cues before and after being exposed to conflicting visual and geomagnetic information. After the second test, birds were equipped with radio-transmitters and followed until the vanishing of the radio signal. Contrary to previous experiments, our data showed a general dominance of celestial cues: polarized light sun-related pattern in captive birds tested without access to stars and stellar dominance in free-flying birds released under a starry sky at night-time. These results underline the importance of experimental protocols when testing ways in which birds integrate their compass systems

A New Approach for Assessing Dealership Performance: An Application for the Automotive Industry

The competitive nature of the contemporary business scenario requires productivity‐driven organizations to be aware of the efficiency level of their dealers. The recent economic and financial crisis has highlighted the need for effective evaluation methods going beyond the limits of traditional performance assessment methodologies in the retail industry. The automotive industry is no exception to this logic. In this sector, traditional methods are often based only on market share performances, ignoring the key role of input‐output ratios on the overall productivity of the parent company. Following this lead, in this paper we propose a method to evaluate the performance of dealerships taking into account both their market share performances and their efficiency. In order to assess dealership efficiency we use the DEA technique, and apply the proposed methodology to a multinational automotive company considering its Italian dealer network

On the extreme hydrologic events determinants by means of Beta-Singh-Maddala reparameterization

In previous studies, beta-k distribution and distribution functions strongly related to that, have played important roles in representing extreme events. Among these distributions, the Beta-Singh-Maddala turned out to be adequate for modelling hydrological extreme events. Starting from this distribution, the aim of the paper is to express the model as a function of indexes of hydrological interest and simultaneously investigate on their dependence with a set of explanatory variables in such a way to explore on possible determinants of extreme hydrologic events. Finally, an application to a real hydrologic dataset is considered in order to show the potentiality of the proposed model in describing data and in understanding effects of covariates on frequently adopted hydrological indicators