Geographical Sciences and technologies for environment and health

Educational objectives

The course pursues the objectives peculiar of the Geography, seen as the discipline searching for explanations of geographical phenomena and tending towards the understanding the interrelationships between men and nature, to identify the right approaches for a better territory organization.
According to modern reading and interpretation keys, the course deals some aspects of cartography (at different scales) and its evolution and the fundamental issues of general geography, with specific attention: on the main modeling agents and different landscapes; on the history of the earth's crust, volcanism and seismic events; on weather and climate; on some aspects concerning the environmental impact, and it makes it in a perspective that emphasizes the close relationship between physical-morphological and anthropic components. Similarly, the course focuses the attention on the aspects concerning the population, the areas with high demographic density and the factors that determine it, the demographic structure, specific indicators of demographic-social interest, migration, and the main economic activities. Then, the attention is focused on the quality of life, on some risk factors for the health of the population and the environment, on the influence produced by lifestyles and polluting sources on the geographical distribution of the causes of death.
At the end of the course the student will have acquired a series of basic skills for a critical-analytical reading of the territory, at different scale of investigation, and to understand which phenomena have led to the current organizational structure and to the plots of relationships that characterize the different contexts. The student will also have acquired the ability to apply basic techniques and methodologies to represent some data and information of geographic-interdisciplinary interest.

Educational objectives

To provide basic public health knowledge to identify and analyze risk factors of infectious and chronic diseases in their geographical context and methods to prevent them.To introduce basic epidemiological methods to appraise descriptive and observational studies also through the use of basic software for epidemiological analysis.
At the end of the course, students acquire the tools and critical skills to carry out detailed analyzes that allow to highlight and localize specific risk factors, with a particular focus on chronic-degenerative diseases that represent the main causes of death in the industrialized countries and which have a significant impact on social and economic management.

Educational objectives

To provide basic public health knowledge to identify and analyze risk factors of infectious and chronic diseases in their geographical context and methods to prevent them.To introduce basic epidemiological methods to appraise descriptive and observational studies also through the use of basic software for epidemiological analysis.
At the end of the course, students acquire the tools and critical skills to carry out detailed analyzes that allow to highlight and localize specific risk factors, with a particular focus on chronic-degenerative diseases that represent the main causes of death in the industrialized countries and which have a significant impact on social and economic management.

Educational objectives

Provide knowledge concerning environmental hygiene in relation to many exposure factors and polluting sources, risk for the health of the environment and the population, with particular reference to life and work contexts. At the end of the course the student acquires skills, tools and abilities to carry out context analysis, highlight problems and advance hypotheses and solutions that can reduce exposures at risk for the health of the environment and the population.

Educational objectives

Students acquire skills to build and represent statistical indicators of geographical interest; connect cartographic and statistical aspects; combining geospatial and geostatistical methods; use combined approaches to carry out interdisciplinary analyzes.
At the end of the course, the student will be able to statistically analyze and relate socio-demographic, economic and territorial factors and components that characterize a specific area in order to be able to carry out quantitative analyzes that can measure certain types of trends and the extent of the phenomena.

Educational objectives

Students acquire skills to build and represent statistical indicators of geographical interest; connect cartographic and statistical aspects; combining geospatial and geostatistical methods; use combined approaches to carry out interdisciplinary analyzes.
At the end of the course, the student will be able to statistically analyze and relate socio-demographic, economic and territorial factors and components that characterize a specific area in order to be able to carry out quantitative analyzes that can measure certain types of trends and the extent of the phenomena.

Educational objectives

The course aims giving to the students basic geological knowledge. This knowledge should allow the students knowing the origin of the main geological processes that led to the formation of rocks and their transformation also through catastrophic events such as earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions. This will make the students able to correctly interpret the geological context of a specific area and therefore reconstruct the processes that led to the current geological structures through the reconstruction of the processes illustrated during the course. The course will also provide the basic tools for reading geological maps that present a fundamental skill for the courses of the following years.

Educational objectives

Historical features of geographical phenomena. Evolution of landscape theory. Historical changes of
Italian landscapes. Reconstructing the history of a place: study cases, selection and analysis of sources

Educational objectives

Students will assimilate specific knowledge, all the theoretical tools and conceptual and empirical references in understanding and in critical analysing specific geographic and economic-geographic themes and problems related to: city and urbanization, environment, ecosystems and nature; growth and development; development policies.

Educational objectives

During the course, students will learn the spatial and temporal interplay of factors that have contributed to the current pattern of social, political, economic and territorial relations; they will understand the territorial pattern of the main sectors of the economy, and the linked most important processes of integration between countries and regions of the world and the striking differentiations of economic development. At the end of the course, students acquire competences aimed at contextualizing and explaining the social, political and economic aspects that characterize the various territorial contexts, carrying out detailed analyzes at the local level and recognizing problems, resources and possible threats. At the same time, students learn to reflect on the indicators of socio-economic development and on the possible environmental impacts that derive from incorrect actions on a global scale.

Educational objectives

Students will assimilate specific knowledge, all the theoretical tools and conceptual and empirical references in understanding and in critical analysing specific geographic and economic-geographic themes and problems related to: city and urbanization, environment, ecosystems and nature; growth and development; development policies.

Educational objectives

Students acquire skills to build and represent statistical indicators of geographical interest; connect cartographic and statistical aspects; combining geospatial and geostatistical methods; use combined approaches to carry out interdisciplinary analyzes.
At the end of the course, the student will be able to statistically analyze and relate socio-demographic, economic and territorial factors and components that characterize a specific area in order to be able to carry out quantitative analyzes that can measure certain types of trends and the extent of the phenomena.

Educational objectives

The students acquire methodological and applicative competences and abilities useful in different fields application to: build and analyse quantitative maps and land use maps, with particular attention to specific categories; edit points, lines and polygons and define buffer zones; georeferencing maps of different periods and scales; work with different basemaps.
At the end of the course the student will be able to use GIS software for the representation and analysis of data through digital maps and elaborations that allow to overlap and compare different layers in order to support detailed and synthetic studies and to promote relational and geostatistical studies of the components that characterize a territory.

Educational objectives

Dublin Descriptors
Knowledge and understanding
Successful students will have acquired knowledge and comprehension of:
- the mode of action of the main elements of marine and continental hydrosphere and of cryosphere;
- the agents and mechanisms of the exogenous morphogenetic processes and of their relationships with climate and structural conditions;
- the different relief landforms deriving from exogenous morphogenetic processes.

Applying knowledge and understanding
Successful students will have acquired:
-skill in the elaboration and interpretation of hydrological, glaciological and meteomarine data;
-skill in interpreting landforms on the basis of topographic maps examination;
- skill in reconstructing the morphological evolution of relief also on the basis of morphological maps interpretation;
- skill in doing interpretative morphological profiles;
-skill in reconstructing the past morphological evolution of Earth relief and in predicting its future evolution

Making judgements
Successful students will be able to:
- evaluate the stability or instability conditions of relief slopes in different morphoclimatic contexts;
- evaluate the hydrological and geomorphological conditions that help flood occurrences;
-recognize human activities that are responsible for soil accelerated erosion and beach erosion.

Communication skills
Successful students will be able to:
- communicate information, ideas, problems and solution concerning the phenomena of geomorphological instability and the deriving risks:
-discuss about environmental impact with knowledge of the facts;
-to write simple reports on the Geomorphology of a territory, based on the interpretation of geothematic maps.

Learning skills
Successful students will have acquired the necessary skills to tackle the more complex studies, concerning Applied Geomorphology and Environmental Geology in an independent and critical way.

Educational objectives

Acquire advanced knowledge of an integrated framework of the conceptual categories of discipline and, at the same time, some important empirical acquisitions associated with this framework.
At the end the student will have the opportunity to combine the tools and methodologies learned with the practice of research and also the ability to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired in the various social fields.
Deepening of the migratory phenomenon in the complexity of the forces that interact in this field, through the tools of qualitative research.
Knowledge and understanding of the migratory events of humanity with critical capacity to intervene in contemporary social situations: multilocalization, multi-identity identity, transculturality, intensification of international cultural exchanges.

Educational objectives

Acquire advanced knowledge of an integrated framework of the conceptual categories of discipline and, at the same time, some important empirical acquisitions associated with this framework.
At the end the student will have the opportunity to combine the tools and methodologies learned with the practice of research and also the ability to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired in the various social fields.

Educational objectives

Deepening of the migratory phenomenon in the complexity of the forces that interact in this field, through the tools of qualitative research.
Knowledge and understanding of the migratory events of humanity with critical capacity to intervene in contemporary social situations: multilocalization, multi-identity identity, transculturality, intensification of international cultural exchanges.

Educational objectives

The course covers aspects of Environmental geography such as sustainability and environmental policies, in order to provide a theoretical framework for a better understanding of the processes behind the current ecological transition. The course will also focuses on geotechnologies such as Geographical InformationSystems, which will be applied to analyse real-world scenarios and to process spatial datasets which represent environmental phenomena.

Educational objectives

The course aims to provide students with the ability to understand and interpret events and problems that characterized the twentieth century, with consequent territorial and social reflections

Educational objectives

The specific aim is to enable the student to assist him with targeted and differentiated knowledge for the
inclusion in the future world of work. Students acquire a mental form and specific skills to operate in different fields and fields of application of geographical interest.

Educational objectives

Students acquire competences to start conducting seismic and volcanic hazard and risk analysis, focussing the attention on specific components and study areas, in order to build critical knowledge regarding the events diffusion, the areas highly exposed, the prevention elements, the vulnerability factors.

Educational objectives

At the end of the course, students will have a general knowledge of: the current issues and debates in urban sociology, as well as the ability to frame those issues in the context of European cities; the major theories and methods it used in the study of urban regeneration processes and the ability to think critically about them; the role of theory in the application of conceptual frameworks in the research process
2. Applying knowledge and understanding: after having passed the exam students should be able to: identify problems and frame research questions relating to the contemporary city, to people living in it and their experiences; understand the environmental and spatial problems that threaten urban residents (in both Italy and Europe) and some of the potential solutions suggested by the academic community; describe and detail the theoretical and policy implications of urban regeneration processes; analyze urban regeneration case studies in Europe; demonstrate research competence by conducting a simple qualitative study via a class project using existing data sources or simple data collection.
3. Critical faculties should be developed through the ability of: critically discussing how urban regeneration theories can be applied to specific contexts; producing and analysing qualitative data and gathering secondary information; understanding how European cities try to face urban transformations; dealing with and reflecting on social, scientific and ethical issues
4. Communications skills. The ability to communicate what was learned should be developed through the elaboration and the presentation of an integrated regeneration project for a defined urban area in which they should show to have the confidence necessary to engage in collaborative problem-solving.
5. Learning skills. The ability to continue studying the topics should be developed through the skills of: understanding and comparing different ideas and strategies concerning the urban regeneration processes; identifying the different approaches to the study of contemporary cities; understanding and using research methods to examine cities and apply sociological imagination to issues in their life and community; reinforcing their knowledge of the basic sociological concepts and analytical skills they learned in previous courses.

Educational objectives

Provide the student with theoretical, content, methodological and tool knowledge to produce a work which
represent the sum of the knowledge reached during the three years of the
course.