East Coast/West Coast: The Long Tradition of Italian Immigrant Performers

This article discusses the role of the immigrant stage in representing, imagining, exporting and importing, the Italian identity. In particular the essay examines the differences between the Italian Diasporic communities on the  east Coast and in California and the diverse culture dello spettacolo they proposed to both American and Italian audiences

The systematic allocation of teacher to task in education systems: a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Education) at Massey University

This study examines the issues associated with the systematic allocation of instructional personnel resources to tasks within education systems and develops a conceptual framework to organize knowledge and direct research in this area of enquiry. An evaluation of the current status of the field of enquiry concludes that existing mechanisms for the matching of teacher to task on a system-wide basis are manifestly inefficient, educationalists have paid scant attention to the problem and there is no recognizable body of knowledge relating to it. The basic elements of a rational system, the reward structure, selection criteria, and selection procedures are examined and a rational system, based on a consideration of the issues raised in that examination, is outlined. An approach to the analysis and comparison of systems is discussed and some suggestions on the modification of staffing arrangements to bring them more into accord with the 'realities' of the situation are made

University choice, research quality and graduates' employability: Evidence from Italian national survey data

Universities have come under increasing pressure to become key drivers of economic development in the age of the knowledge economy. Yet we know very little about the impact of university quality and scientific excellence on the probability of graduates finding jobs. This paper investigates the determinants of Italian graduates’ employability 3-years after graduation, with special reference to university quality measured in terms of research performance and teaching quality. The empirical evidence sheds light on the pivotal role of academic institutions in economic systems, proving that their contribution to employment growth could be substantial. Our analysis supports the promotion of policy initiatives to improve the quality of academic institutions, and the accountability of research results. As we also observe wide regional differences, we argue that university quality emerges as a supply tool for policy makers aiming at boosting young and skilled labour demand in less developed regions.

The governance of University knowledge transfer

European Universities, Knowledge Transfer, Governance, Intellectual Property, Knowledge Transfer Organization

Coupling of solar reflective cool roofing solutions with sub-surface phase change materials (PCM) to avoid condensation and biological growth

Cool roofs are effective solutions to counter the overheating of building roofs, inhabited spaces below and urban areas in which buildings are located thanks to their capability of reflecting solar radiation. Nonetheless, the relatively low surface temperatures that they induce can cause condensation of humidity and leave the surface wetted for large part of the day, thus promoting the growth of bacteria, algae and other biological fouling; this can cause a quick decay of the solar reflective performance. Biological growth is countered by surface treatments, which however may be toxic and forbidden in many countries and may also vanish quickly. It can also be countered by lowering the thermal emittance and thus decreasing heat transfer by infrared radiation to the sky and the consequent night undercooling, but this can decrease the performance of cool roofs. An alternative approach, which is analyzed in this work, is to embed in the first layer below the cool roof surface a phase change material (PCM) that absorbs heat during the daytime and then releases it in the nighttime. This can increase the minimum surface temperatures, thus reducing the occurrence humidity condensation and, with this, the biological growth. In this work, preliminary results on the coupling of a cool roof surface with a PCM sublayer are presented, being obtained by theoretical investigation on commercial materials and taking into account the time evolution pattern of the environmental conditions

Comparison of sHSP2 Expression in Hydra oligactis Before and After the Induction of Aging

The invertebrates Hydra oligactis and Hydra vulgaris are valuable models for research on aging. H. oligactis show senescence after sexual reproduction is induced, reducing their lifespan to about 90 days, while H. vulgaris remain alive indefinitely. One possible explanation for the difference in lifespan is that H. oligactis have a less robust heat shock response than H. vulgaris. Among the proteins rapidly produced during the heat shock response are small heat shock proteins (sHSPs). Past research in our lab characterized expression of sHSP genes in H. vulgaris in the absence of heat shock. All five of the H. vulgaris sHSP genes examined were expressed in stem cells in adult H. vulgaris, suggesting a role in maintaining protein quality control in stem cells. The current project sought to determine whether sHSPs are also expressed in H. oligactis stem cells and if so, whether expression is maintained once sexual reproduction and aging are induced. Expression of a H. oligactis sHSP gene corresponding to one studied in H. vulgaris, sHSP2, was characterized using RNA in situ hybridization. Expression was examined in H. oligactis before and both 27 and 42 days after the induction of aging. We found that even after induction, H. oligactis show expression of sHSP2 in epithelial stem cells. This preliminary data provides evidence that sHSP2 is not critical for aging in H. oligactis

The Gender Gap in Ph.D. Entrepreneurship: How do students perceive the academic environment?

This paper investigates gender issues in Ph.D. entrepreneurship. The empirical analysis is based on data from a questionnaire survey run in 2014–15 in Italy. We analyse how Ph.D. students perceive the institutional entrepreneurial environment, the drivers and the factors hindering entrepreneurship and gender-equality among faculties at the parent institution. We find evidence of a gender bias in Ph.D. entrepreneurship and that the perception about the factors either hampering or supporting entrepreneurship is deeply different between sexes. The academic environment can have a fundamental impact on students’ decisions to start new ventures and on the probability that they will abandon their entrepreneurial intentions. Female student entrepreneurs particularly benefit from the opportunity to engage with a gender-balanced work environment

WIPI1, BAG1 and PEX3 autophagy-related genes are relevant melanoma markers

ROS and oxidative stress may promote autophagy; on the other hand, autophagy may help reduce oxidative damages. According to the known interplay of ROS, autophagy, and melanoma onset, we hypothesized that autophagy-related genes (ARGs) may represent useful melanoma biomarkers. We therefore analyzed the gene and protein expression of 222 ARGs in human melanoma samples, from 5 independent expression databases (overall 572 patients). Gene expression was first evaluated in the GEO database. Forty-two genes showed extremely high ability to discriminate melanoma from nevi (63 samples) according to ROC (AUC ≥ 0.85) and Mann-Whitney (p < 0.0001) analyses. The 9 genes never related to melanoma before were then in silico validated in the IST online database. BAG1, CHMP2B, PEX3, and WIPI1 confirmed a strong differential gene expression, in 355 samples. A second-round validation performed on the Human Protein Atlas database showed strong differential protein expression for BAG1, PEX3, and WIPI1 in melanoma vs control samples, according to the image analysis of 80 human histological sections. WIPI1 gene expression also showed a significant prognostic value (p < 0.0001) according to 102 melanoma patients' survival data. We finally addressed in Oncomine database whether WIPI1 overexpression is melanoma-specific. Within more than 20 cancer types, the most relevant WIPI1 expression change (p = 0.00002; fold change = 3.1) was observed in melanoma. Molecular/functional relationships of the investigated molecules with melanoma and their molecular/functional network were analyzed via Chilibot software, STRING analysis, and gene ontology enrichment analysis. We conclude that WIPI1 (AUC = 0.99), BAG1 (AUC = 1), and PEX3 (AUC = 0.93) are relevant novel melanoma markers at both gene and protein levels

Ventilated pitched roof with forced ventilation and flow homogenizer device: Testing and performance assessment

Ventilated tile roofs are common objects in the construction sector of Italy. A preferred type is characterized by a ventilated air space between the upper tile layer and the roof structure below. The air enters through openings at the gutters level, flows up below sheathing in the air space along the pitch and is finally discharged through openings along the ridge. This setup, which leaves the room below the roof sealed and habitable, allows removing the heat brought by the absorbed solar radiation thanks to the flow that is established by natural ventilation in the air space. However, its actual performance is often weak and also unpredictable due to continuously changing buoyancy forces. Nonetheless, a permanent and adequate flow can be ensured even through a relatively thin air space and for whichever irradiance and wind conditions by forced ventilation: a properly designed fan can provide the desired flow rate by extracting the air after this is collected along the ridge by a manifold. A thorough design and manufacturing of the manifold is needed, however, to avoid a highly inhomogeneous flow, which would follow the easiest path and leave most of the pitch practically unventilated. As an alternative, a throttling shutter parallel to the ridge has been proposed to progressively choke the flow entering the manifold through parallel climbing ducts as the fan is approached, possibly allowing onsite adjustment after installation. In this work the solution, developed by means of a small scale test bed, is illustrated in details and some methods to assess the performance are presented

Il Fontanon di Timau (Paluzza, Udine, Italia): dati preliminari sulle caratteristiche idrogeologiche della sorgente

Il presente articolo* espone i dati preliminari di un lavoro ancora in corso riguardante l’idrogeologia della sorgente del Fontanon di Timau. Gli studi sono stati patrocinati da SECAB società cooperativa di Paluzza in occasione del centenario della sua fondazione. Il presente articolo è stato in parte pubblicato sulla recente monografia “Alta Valle del But: una storia scandita dalle acque nel tempo” a cura di Corrado Venturini.This article presents the preliminary results of on-going research on the hydrogeology of the Fontanon di Timau spring. The studies were sponsored by the SECAB cooperative society of Paluzza, on the occasion of the centenary of its foundation. A section of this article was published in the recent monograph “Alta Valle del But: una storia scandita dalle acque nel tempo” (Alta Valle del But: a history marked by the waters over time) by Corrado Venturini