Corrado Crocetta

Validation of the Exhaled Breath Temperature Measure : Reference Values in Healthy Subjects

Background Exhaled breath temperature (EBT) is a new noninvasive method for the study of inflammatory respiratory diseases with a potential to reach clinical practice. However, few studies are available regarding the validation of this method, and they were mainly derived from small, pediatric populations; thus, the range of normal values is not well established. The aim of this study was to measure EBT values in an Italian population of 298 subjects (mean age, 45.2 ± 15.5 years; 143 male subjects; FEV1, 97.2% ± 5.8%; FVC, 98.4% ± 3.9%) selected from 867 adult volunteers to define reference values in healthy subjects and to analyze the influence of individual and external variables on this parameter. Methods EBT was measured with an X‐halo PRO device to different ambient temperature ranging from 0°C to 38°C. Results We report reference values of EBT in healthy white subjects who had never smoked. EBT values were strongly influenced by the external temperature and to a lesser extent according to sex. Conclusions In a large population of healthy subjects who never smoked, these data provide reference values for measuring EBT as a basis for future studies. Our results are contribute to the promotion of EBT from “bench” to “bedside.”

A Fuzzy Measure of Satisfaction for University Education as a Key for Employment

In this paper, we propose a fuzzy approach to measure the degree of satisfaction of graduates on the suitability of university education for working purposes. The indicators proposed come from two factors: the importance attributed to six aspects of university education and the quality of the service perceived by graduates. We use these indices to evaluate the first results of a telephone survey on a sample group of graduates at the University of Foggia. Using factor analysis, we show that all the aspects of university education can be summarised in just one dimension.

University of Bari’s Website Evaluation

Educational websites were studied from many different perspectives. In 2001, Zhang and von Dran developed a theoretical framework for evaluating website quality from a user satisfaction perspective, while Yoo and Jin in 2004 evaluated the design of university websites. In this paper, we assess the quality perceived by the users of the website of the University of Bari using factorial analysis and multiple correspondences analysis (MCA) visual maps. Latent variables resulting from this preliminary analysis were then used to evaluate the most important latent dimensions related to loyalty of the users. A segmentation analysis was performed to study how loyalty is influenced by variables and factors.

An Evaluation of the Student Satisfaction Based on CUB Models

In 2009 the Faculty of Economics of Foggia started a project called “Analisi della student satisfaction” with the aim of creating an internal quality control system based on students’ feedback. Every year a customer satisfaction survey is carried out, where all students attending lectures are asked to evaluate the services provided. This paper presents an evaluation of the student satisfaction over the last two academic years. In order to understand the level of satisfaction and the psychological mechanism behind the students’ evaluation process an approach based on CUB models is adopted. At the end, multidimensional scaling (MDS) techniques were used to investigate the existence of student subgroups with similar attitudes towards the Faculty’s services and the overall satisfaction, highlighting the eventually presence of similarities with the latent variables estimated by CUB models.

Evaluation of Italian Judicial System

Abstract Italy is frequently reprimanded by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) over the amount of time it takes Italian courts to reach verdicts. As stated by President Giorgio Napolitano, European Court decisions have lead to calls for an urgent intervention in order to save time and costs in Italian judicial system. Efficiency and effectiveness are key targets for managing justice in Italy. Nevertheless they are not easy to achieve. In this paper, using a Stochastic Frontier Model (SFM) we compare the Italian courts efficiency to identify strong and weak points.

A Structural Model of the Employment Pathways of the University of Foggia Graduates

The purpose of this study is to investigate the strategies used by graduates of the University of Foggia to enter the labour market. Using both quantitative and qualitative variables, quantified by means of optimal scaling, a structural equation model has been created to analyse the relations between latent variables tied to university education, and graduates’ expectations and methods of job searching. Furthermore, we study if the correlation structure between these latent variables is constant observing separately female and male graduates.