DETERMINING VALUE DIMENSIONS FOR AN ALL-ENCOMPASSING SERVICE EVALUATION

Purpose – All along its evolution, service logic strongly focuses on the meaning of service value and where it resides within a service development process, shifting from its conception as a service attribute to be created by the service provider to a focus on value-in-use and value-in-context as elements emerging from the user experience. The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon how to determine value dimensions emerging from each value creation sphere in order to evaluate the overall service performance both from a provider and a user perspective. Design/Methodology/approach – The authors explores in parallel service logic studies in the field of marketing and management and evaluation studies in the field of social sciences in order to define a service evaluation model. The model will be exemplified through the application to a service in the healthcare sector. Final considerations will be done upon the use of the model as a tool for shifting the reflection on value creation from theory to practice. Findings – Even though in theory of service logic there is a quite clear understanding of service value creation dynamics for all the actors involved (provider, user and other stakeholders), evaluation in the service field is still focused on evaluating processes mainly from a provider perspective. A systemic vision determining the value of the overall service performance is missing. Considering evaluation as a process aimed at a critical analysis of data collected to support a judgment, with the purpose of triggering a change in what is being evaluated, the paper proposes a reflection within the value creation spheres based on three different evaluation moments (ex-ante, in-itinere, ex-post) and considering both a provider and a user perspective. The output consists of an evaluation model that reflects upon how to determine and evaluate value dimensions that are meaningful for the service provider in value-facilitation activities and for the service user in value-creation activities, thus gaining understanding of service value from both perspectives in the so called co-creation sphere. Research limitations/implications – The authors bridge service studies and evaluation studies to start approaching the concept of service evaluation as a further development of service logic. Originality/value – The paper faces the service evaluation issue from a service logic perspective, introducing a new topic in the field and a way to approach it thanks to a reflection upon the process of determination of service evaluation objects and value dimensions

Dendritic cells sample HIV-1 through an intestinal epithelial cell monolayer

The intestinal mucosa is a preferential portal of entry for HIV-1 during mother-to-child transmission. Oral infection is also a well documented route for transmission of HIV-1 in neonates. Neonates can acquire the disease by breast-feeding, moreover presence of blood in gastric aspirates of neonates born to HIV-1 infected mothers has also been incriminated as a risk factor in the transmission of HIV-1. Multiple mechanisms for mucosal HIV-1 transmission have been proposed, however the exact role played by dendritic cells in facilitating viral passage across intestinal epithelium have not been fully defined. We had hypothesized that sub-mucosal dendritic cells (DCs) can mediate mucosal transmission of HIV-1 through a process similar to bacterial sampling through gastrointestinal epithelium (Rescigno M., Nat.Immun.2001)

Developing recovery oriented services and co-production in mental healthcare: Building- up on existing promising organisational practices

Recovery, as a patient-centred emergent transformative concept in mental healthcare, requires a change in the culture and practice of organisations at different levels. This paper investigates the potential of nurturing existing recovery oriented initiatives as promising practices for the re-orientation of mental healthcare provision. In the field of social innovation, promising practices are intended as very context-linked sustainable practices which open up possibilities of societal radical transformation based on people’s real needs and existing assets. Similarly, in mental healthcare services, the authors argue that emergent promising recovery oriented and co-produced practices can favour the shift from a traditional top-down culture to a more collaborative one. This paper is based on an experimental action-research project, Recovery CO–LAB, developed in collaboration with the Mental Health Department of Spedali Civili di Brescia, aiming to explore how service design could help the organisation to increase its orientation toward recovery

Dendritic cells sample HIV-1 through an intestinal epithelial cell monolayer

The intestinal mucosa is a preferential portal of entry for HIV-1 during mother-to-child transmission. Oral infection is also a well documented route for transmission of HIV-1 in neonates. Neonates can acquire the disease by breast-feeding, moreover presence of blood in gastric aspirates of neonates born to HIV-1 infected mothers has also been incriminated as a risk factor in the transmission of HIV-1. Multiple mechanisms for mucosal HIV-1 transmission have been proposed, however the exact role played by dendritic cells in facilitating viral passage across intestinal epithelium have not been fully defined. We had hypothesized that sub-mucosal dendritic cells (DCs) can mediate mucosal transmission of HIV-1 through a process similar to bacterial sampling through gastrointestinal epithelium (Rescigno M., Nat.Immun.2001)

Phosphorylation of nuclear Tau is modulated by distinct cellular pathways

Post-translational protein modification controls the function of Tau as a scaffold protein linking a variety of molecular partners. This is most studied in the context of microtubules, where Tau regulates their stability as well as the distribution of cellular components to defined compartments. However, Tau is also located in the cell nucleus; and is found to protect DNA. Quantitative assessment of Tau modification in the nucleus when compared to the cytosol may elucidate how subcellular distribution and function of Tau is regulated. We undertook an unbiased approach by combing bimolecular fluorescent complementation and mass spectrometry in order to show that Tau phosphorylation at specific residues is increased in the nucleus of proliferating pluripotent neuronal C17.2 and neuroblastoma\ua0SY5Y cells. These findings were validated with the use of nuclear targeted Tau and subcellular fractionation, in particular for the phosphorylation at T181, T212 and S404. We also report that the DNA damaging drug Etoposide increases the translocation of Tau to the nucleus whilst reducing its phosphorylation. We propose that overt phosphorylation of Tau, a hallmark of neurodegenerative disorders defined as tauopathies, may negatively regulate the function of nuclear Tau in protecting against DNA damage