Summer Session 1 Courses

In the first part of this computer-based course, students learn linear programming algorithms and how to apply them for resource allocation in production, investment selection, media selection, transportation planning, job assignments, financial planning, make or buy decision making and overtime planning contexts. In the second part of the course, students learn how to choose the best decision using expected monetary value (EMV), how to make optimum decision strategies under uncertainty by making decision trees, how to evaluate marketing research information, and how to apply project management (PERT) basic steps. Ultimately students are asked to conduct a month-long research and development project to define a real organizational decision strategy.

This course introduces students to the basic theory and practice of public speaking. More than simply a required skill for class and/or professional presentations, public speaking has a long political tradition in many cultures both ancient and modern. It complements civic engagement within the public sphere and plays a central role in deliberative political participation. Since the emergence of the Internet, public speaking has also become increasingly important in digital form. From a theoretical point of view, this course considers both the historical role of public speaking as it relates to socio-political change and its ongoing necessity today within global processes. From a practical point of view, students will become familiar with various rhetorical methods and concepts involved in public speaking, learn how to analyze and critically understand actual speeches, and practice public speaking in a variety of contexts. Students should leave the course with a better understanding of both the theory and practice of public speak-ing, particularly with a view towards global social engagement.

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This is an entry-level course in economics, covering fundamentals of microeconomics and aimed at students who choose it as an elective or plan to continue their studies in economics. This course helps students develop basic analytical skills in economics and microeconomics. It provides students with a basic understanding of the market system in advanced capitalist economies. It examines the logic of constrained choice with a focus on the economic behavior of individuals and organizations. After a theoretical analysis of the determinants and the interaction of supply and demand under competitive conditions, alternative market structures will be investigated, including monopolistic and oligopolistic forms. The course examines the conditions under which markets allocate resources efficiently and identifies causes of market failure and the appropriate government response. The introduction to the role of government includes its taxing and expenditure activities as well as regulatory policies.

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Since the end of World War II Russia has passed through and endured a series of seismic changes. Once the heart of the expansive Soviet empire, the Russian Republic that emerged in the 1990s after the breakup of the Soviet Union was beset by economic collapse, social decay and a new era of political corruption under Boris Yeltsin. Since 2000 and the rise to power of Vladimir Putin, the Russia of the 21st century is endeavoring to restore its influence in world affairs while using its vast natural resources to revitalize its sputtering economy. This course will examine the different phases through which Russia has passed since World War II, surveying the salient political, social and economic events that have shaped Russian domestic life as well as Russia’s changing relationship with other nations and regions, including the US, China and the Middle East.

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This course introduces a relatively new field of study in psychology that focuses on the interaction between the environment and human beings, examining how the physical features of the environment impact cognition, behavior, and well-being, and how human actions in turn produce immediate and long-term consequences on the environment. In this course, the environment is broadly defined to include not only our physical surroundings (both natural and built) but also the larger, socio-cultural and political milieu in which people live. This course will borrow ideas and information from a variety of other areas and disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, biology, geography, urban planning, public policy, and other areas. Topics to be covered include: dysfunctional and restorative environments, the effects of environmental stressors, the nature and use of personal space, environmental risk perception, psychological impact of ecological crises, values and attitudes towards nature, and conservation psychology.

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The course introduces the global business system in the context of the economic, political, social and technological environments, relating business to society as a whole. Topics covered include the international scope, function, and organization of firms, and other fundamental concepts of multinational business. The course also addresses functional areas such as the value chain, production, marketing, human resources, and accounting.

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In this course, students will combine critical approaches to science communication with their own creative vision to explore the world of environmental storytelling. Bringing together visual culture and communication studies, natural history and environmental science, and technical skills in narrative and visual storytelling, this course offers a bridge between theory and practice, equipping the twenty-first student to enter into the emerging intersection between environmental debates and digital screen content production. Students will immerse themselves in local heritage and natural science history sites including surrounding parks and museums, developing knowledge of surrounding environmental issues to be expressed and dramatized. In addition to studying the rhetoric and aesthetics of visual language, students will learn skills in hands-on story development, construction of messaging strategies, and contemporary trends in environmental storytelling.

This course is designed for students who have completed two semesters of Italian language study. The course provides a review and expansion of command of Italian grammar, vocabulary, and culture. The acquisition of aural/oral communication skills will be stressed and, as such, the predominant language of instruction will be Italian. By the end of the course students will achieve proficiency at the B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Students will be expected to be proficient in the written and spoken usage of intermediate linguistic structures. Students will be expected to deal with most situations likely to arise in the areas where the language is spoken. They will be able to: a) produce simple connected texts on topics, which are familiar or of personal interest; b) describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions; and c) briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. Whenever possible, the written assignments will be designed to foster practical communication skills and encourage efforts towards increased student integration in the local Italian-speaking community.

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This computer-based course presents the basic concepts in statistics: random variables, random sampling, frequency distributions, central tendency measures, variance and standard deviation, kurtosis and skewness, probability rules, Bayes theorem and posterior probability. Important statistical methods like contingency analysis, ANOVA, and correlation analysis are introduced and their algorithms are explained. The most important probability distributions are introduced: Binomial, Poisson, and Normal distribution, as well as the Chebyshev theorem for non-symmetrical distributions. Inferential statistics, sampling distributions and confidence intervals are briefly covered in order to introduce statistical model building and single linear regression and trend analysis. Students learn how to promote the scientific method, how to identify questions, collect evidence, discover and apply tools to interpret the data, and communicate results. EXCEL is used to enhance algorithmic learning. Selected SPSS or STATA examples are also provided.

At its core, drawing is a problem-solving tool that fosters close observation and analytical thinking. Renaissance masters such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Brunelleschi and Michelangelo as well as countless modern designers, from the Bauhaus school to Ed Moses, use it as the language to create and explain their visions of the future. Today, drawing is at the core of modern design thinking methods. In this class, students of all skill levels will learn how to harness this powerful tool by exploring core drawing principles such as volume, space, value and color and rendering the world around them in a variety of mediums. In the process, student will also take away skills to enhance focus and memory.

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This course addresses the impact of modern information technology and data management concepts at the functional levels of international business, especially in the areas of finance, marketing, accounting and resource management. The computer‐based section of the course provides methodology and software tools, advanced Excel modeling, Microsoft Access, and DBMS, necessary to develop and evaluate Decision Support Systems, Management Information Systems, and Transaction Processing Systems. Case‐based learning is utilized to stress how international firms can gain a competitive advantage by leveraging information technology. (Recommended BUS 326)

For students who have completed at least two years of college-level language studies or the equivalent. This course offers cultural readings from a variety of sources, including some literary pieces, as well as magazine and newspaper articles reflecting the contemporary scene in the countries where the language is spoken. Vocabulary expansion and development of techniques of expression are accomplished through oral and written exercises.

Basic concepts of the discipline are discussed in this class with a focus on the evolution of the state and the role of the individual from historical, ideological, and comparative perspectives.

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This course examines the political processes that shape conflict and consensus in Middle Eastern societies. From this perspective, main regional conflicts are analyzed. The confrontation between (1)Iran and the Arab World and (2)Israel and the region at large are surveyed in light of intra-Arab antagonisms and the historical great power rivalry for hegemony in the area. Special focus is directed toward an understanding of the politics of modernization and the clash between tradition and modernity.

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(Dates: 20 May - 1 June 2019) From early optical instruments to Renaissance printing presses, from camera obscuras floating on boats to portable paint tubes, from modern film cameras to laser sculptures, from computer robotics to 3D printing, technology continues to play a major role in art, visual communication, and fashion. It shapes both creative processes and production techniques in the making of visual culture and it affects and defines the status of the beholder of its manifold expressions. The course will investigate some of the milestones in the history of instruments and will take up contemporary technology to investigate the intertwined connection between man and machine in the creative world. This Academic Travel course will start with on-campus sessions in Lugano and then travel to Venice, where it will focus on the 58th International Venice Biennale and its related events as the primary resource. The course cost covers all housing in Lugano and in shared apartments in the center of Venice, local public transportation, museum and exhibition entrances, a season pass to the Biennale, and some extracurricular activities and meals. Students are required to make their own travel arrangements from Venice. IMPORTANT: Registration and a non-refundable CHF 1,500 (USD 1,500) deposit are due by 5 April 2019.