FINANCING AND MODELLING TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

This thesis is a collection of contributions on the technology adoption in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In particular, it focuses on how funding schemes and business models impact when a new technology is available. With the intent of providing a picture of how technology comes in the activity HEIs, the analysis starts off with a descriptive introduction about distance education with a special focus on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), then three articles will be presented. The first paper points out a substantial heterogeneity among the funding systems: the governments reaction to the economic crisis appears to be one of the principal divisive factors. Some governments have increased funds for higher education, introducing targeted funding, allocated on a competitive basis, to meet the national targets; others have been cutting budgets; the second paper shows that the activation of MOOC platforms generates also the beginning of a new university business model with strong economic implications; the third paper finds that universities with less resources are more prone to innovate and marketization of HE will drive a depth innovation process.This thesis is a collection of contributions on the technology adoption in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In particular, it focuses on how funding schemes and business models impact when a new technology is available. With the intent of providing a picture of how technology comes in the activity HEIs, the analysis starts off with a descriptive introduction about distance education with a special focus on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), then three articles will be presented. The first paper points out a substantial heterogeneity among the funding systems: the governments reaction to the economic crisis appears to be one of the principal divisive factors. Some governments have increased funds for higher education, introducing targeted funding, allocated on a competitive basis, to meet the national targets; others have been cutting budgets; the second paper shows that the activation of MOOC platforms generates also the beginning of a new university business model with strong economic implications; the third paper finds that universities with less resources are more prone to innovate and marketization of HE will drive a depth innovation process

The role of strategic airline alliances in Africa

This paper looks at the impacts of strategic airline alliances on African aviation. Globally, there has been an on-going trend towards airlines coordinating their activities via strategic alliances and joint ventures. These alliances affect market competition including the quality and costs of the services provided. Despite the economic benefits found in prior analyses of alliances in other markets there has been very limited study of alliance participation by African airlines. Our analysis suggests, among other things, that membership of one of the three global alliances could benefit African airlines, add to their passenger flows, and enhance regional economic integration

Tecniche integrate di Remote Sensing e GIS a supporto della stima del potenziale fotovoltaico su tetti in aree urbane

Le ultime linee guida approvate dal Governo Italiano per sostenere finanziariamente il fotovoltaico (PV) e lo sviluppo della produzione di energia solare (Quarto e Quinto Conto Energia, Gennaio 2012 e succ.), al fine di evitare il consumo di suolo in aree agricole o naturali, comprendono indicazioni specifiche che rendono più vantaggiosa l’installazione d’impianti su tetti o superfici di copertura di edifici. In questo contesto diventa importante, per una adeguata attività di pianificazione e monitoraggio del PV, la mappatura estensiva delle superfici a disposizione, coincidenti con i tetti e l’accurata valutazione del loro potenziale fotovoltaico. Dal momento che tali coperture si trovano soprattutto nelle aree urbane o industriali, in cui fattori come eterogeneità tridimensionale, albedo, torbidità atmosferica ed ombreggiamenti reciproci influenzano in modo significativo l’irraggiamento solare locale, è necessario tenere conto adeguatamente di questi elementi mediante una mappatura GIS tridimensionale ed avanzati strumenti di modellazione, in modo da stimare efficacemente la radianza solare disponibile a livello dei tetti. La metodologia implementata, basata su tecniche di telerilevamento e GIS, ha permesso di valutare e mappare la radiazione solare globale su tutti i tetti presenti nel territorio del Comune di Avellino. Partendo da dati di tipo LIDAR, è stato ottenuto in primo luogo il DSM di tutta l’area di interesse (~ 42 Km2), quindi il modello tridimensionale di ogni edificio da cui sono stati derivati i parametri geometrici di tutte le coperture. Per tenere conto della trasparenza atmosferica e della percentuale di radiazione solare (diffusa/diretta) sulle superfici di interesse, sono stati utilizzati i dati e gli strumenti applicativi presenti sul sito web PVGIS, sviluppato dalla UE. L’elaborazione finale, basata sull’utilizzo di strumenti GIS anche di tipo open source, ha permesso di ottenere le mappe di radianza solare e di potenziale PV per tutti i tetti presenti nell’area di studio.The last guidelines approved by Italian government to financially support the solar Photovoltaic (PV) Energy production development (Fourth and Fifth feed-in-scheme, January 2012 and later), in order to avoid soil consumption in agricultural or naturals areas, include specific indications for more advantageously funding the installations exploiting roofs or covers surfaces. In this context it becomes important, for a suitable PV planning and monitoring, the extensive mapping of the available surfaces extent, usually corresponding to covers and properly assessing their quality in term of PV potential. Since the covers are mainly located in urban or industrial areas, whose 3D heterogeneity, albedo, atmospheric turbidity and casting shadows significantly influence the local solar irradiance, it is necessary to suitably account for these distributed factors by means of GIS mapping and advanced modeling tools in order to provide realistic estimates of solar available radiance at roofs level. The implemented methodology, based on remote sensing techniques, has allowed to estimate and map the global solar radiance over all the roofs within Avellino municipality. Starting from LIDAR data, DSM of the entire area of interest (~42 Km2) has been firstly obtained; then the 3D model of each building and related cover has been derived. To account for the atmospheric transparency and the related time-dependent diffuse/direct radiation percentage on the area, data and tools from EU PVGIS web application have been also used. The final processing to obtain the solar radiance maps has been carried out using specific software modules available within commercial and open-source GIS packages

Utility-based Bandwidth Adaptation in Mission-Oriented Wireless Sensor Networks

This article develops a utility-based optimization framework for resource sharing by multiple competing missions in a mission-oriented wireless sensor network (WSN) environment. Prior work on network utility maximization (NUM) based optimization has focused on unicast flows with sender-based utilities in either wireline or wireless networks. In this work, we develop a generalized NUM model to consider three key new features observed in mission-centric WSN environments: i) the definition of the utility of an individual mission (receiver) as a joint function of data from multiple sensor sources; ii) the consumption of each sender's (sensor) data by multiple missions; and iii) the multicast-tree-based dissemination of each sensor's data flow, using link-layer broadcasts to exploit the “wireless broadcast advantage” in data forwarding. We show how a price-based, distributed protocol (WSN-NUM) can ensure optimal and proportionally fair rate allocation across multiple missions, without requiring any coordination among missions or sensors. We also discuss techniques to improve the speed of convergence of the protocol, which is essential in an environment as dynamic as the WSN. Further, we analyze the impact of various network and protocol parameters on the bandwidth utilization of the network, using a discrete-event simulation of a stationary wireless network. Finally, we corroborate our simulation-based performance results of the WSN-NUM protocol with an implementation of an 802.11b network.</jats:p

Efficacy and tolerability of a gatifloxacin/prednisolone acetate fixed combination for topical prophylaxis and control of inflammation in phacoemulsification: a 20-day-double-blind comparison to its individual components

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy and tolerability of a fixed combination of 0.3% gatifloxacin and 1% prednisolone (Zypred®) versus the individual components used separately (Zypred® and Predfort®) for infection prophylaxis and inflammation control after cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation. METHODS: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study of 108 patients who underwent phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation was conducted. After random assignment, 47 eyes received the fixed combination of topical 0.3% gatifloxacin/1% prednisolone drops, and 61 eyes received the same doses of the individual components as separate solutions four times a day for 15 days. Baseline and postoperative assessments were made on postoperative days 1, 7, 15, and 20. RESULTS: All objective (best corrected visual acuity, sign of active ocular inflammation, central and incisional corneal edema, the number of cells per high-power field in the anterior chamber, and intraocular pressure) and subjective (eye pain, photophobia, burning sensation, itching, and foreign body sensation) criteria of efficacy were similar in both groups, with no significant differences. Group I included 47 eyes that received the fixed combination of gatifloxacin/prednisolone acetate eye drops and a placebo eye drop solution. Group II included 61 eyes that were treated with 0.3% gatifloxacin and 1% prednisolone acetate eye drops separately. The intraocular pressure was slightly higher in Group II (

Contributions of mean and shape of blood pressure distribution to worldwide trends and variations in raised blood pressure: A pooled analysis of 1018 population-based measurement studies with 88.6 million participants

© The Author(s) 2018. Background: Change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure could be due to both shifts in the entire distribution of blood pressure (representing the combined effects of public health interventions and secular trends) and changes in its high-blood-pressure tail (representing successful clinical interventions to control blood pressure in the hypertensive population). Our aim was to quantify the contributions of these two phenomena to the worldwide trends in the prevalence of raised blood pressure. Methods: We pooled 1018 population-based studies with blood pressure measurements on 88.6 million participants from 1985 to 2016. We first calculated mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of raised blood pressure by sex and 10-year age group from 20-29 years to 70-79 years in each study, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights, where relevant. We used a linear mixed effect model to quantify the association between (probittransformed) prevalence of raised blood pressure and age-group- and sex-specific mean blood pressure. We calculated the contributions of change in mean SBP and DBP, and of change in the prevalence-mean association, to the change in prevalence of raised blood pressure. Results: In 2005-16, at the same level of population mean SBP and DBP, men and women in South Asia and in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa would have the highest prevalence of raised blood pressure, and men and women in the highincome Asia Pacific and high-income Western regions would have the lowest. In most region-sex-age groups where the prevalence of raised blood pressure declined, one half or more of the decline was due to the decline in mean blood pressure. Where prevalence of raised blood pressure has increased, the change was entirely driven by increasing mean blood pressure, offset partly by the change in the prevalence-mean association. Conclusions: Change in mean blood pressure is the main driver of the worldwide change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure, but change in the high-blood-pressure tail of the distribution has also contributed to the change in prevalence, especially in older age groups

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.Peer reviewe

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries(1,2). However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world(3) and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health(4,5). However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol-which is a marker of cardiovascular riskchanged from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million-4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.Peer reviewe