Rendere sociali le imprese. Impatto sociale, confini dell\u2019impresa e rete di stakeholder

E\u2019 possibile ampliare il concetto di impresa sociale fino a comprendere imprese for profit posizionate fuori dai confini fissati dalla definizione ex lege? La risposta a questa domanda necessita di un cambio di punti di vista: la gestione dell\u2019eventuale surplus non pu\uf2 pi\uf9 essere una discriminante di ci\uf2 che viene inteso come impresa sociale. E\u2019 necessario muovere l\u2019attenzione verso i processi che invece permettono di realizzare l\u2019impatto sociale a prescindere da ci\uf2 che accade dal lato degli eventuali profitti. Fatto ci\uf2, \ue8 quindi importante capire quale determinante di questi processi pu\uf2 essere posta alla base della creazione di impatto sociale anche in presenza di soggetti che perseguano fini for profit. In particolare, l\u2019impresa for profit dovr\ue0 essere vista nel contesto del pi\uf9 ampio network di stakeholder che deve essere mobilitato per raggiungere i fini sociali. La mobilitazione degli stakeholder ha il ruolo fondamentale di \u201cfar quadrare il cerchio\u201d, cio\ue8 di permettere ad attori for profit di raggiugere fini sociali, e di poter quindi essere assimilati concettualmente all\u2019idea di imprese sociali. Questo tuttavia non pu\uf2 avvenire lasciando invariate le organizzazioni che decidono di intraprendere questa strada (non ancora riconosciuta, e forse difficilmente catturabile, dalla legge). Appare evidente, infatti, come la mobilitazione degli stakeholder a fini sociali influenzi profondamente i confini dell\u2019impresa: quando gli attori operano sulla base di valori condivisi finalizzati a raggiungere un certo impatto sociale, le imprese parte del network devono optare per comportamenti trasparenti, rendendo ulteriormente permeabili i propri confini. Per rendere evidente questo processo, andremo ad analizzare un network di organizzazioni costituito da piccole imprese manifatturiere, organizzazioni non profit e gruppi di acquisto solidale che, senza rinunciare ognuno alla propria vocazione, hanno sviluppato un modello virtuoso di produzione finalizzata sia al raggiungimento di un impatto sociale che alla sostenibilit\ue0 economica delle imprese partecipanti. In questo caso vedremo che le imprese for profit possono mobilitare una rete di stakeholder a fini sociali a patto di gestire la propria filiera attraverso quella che chiameremo global openness, intesa non solo come trasparenza dei processi interni all\u2019impresa ma anche come necessit\ue0 di rendere trasparente l\u2019intera catena del valore, ben oltre i propri confini e quelli dei propri partner diretti

Characterisation of Mega-Constellation Links for LEO Missions with Applications to EO and ISS Use Cases

Satellite missions demand ever greater connectivity, especially in the LEO regime. In this paper, we introduce the new mega-constellation services in space paradigm: we show that mega constellations, deployed to offer innovative services to Earth’s users, can provide excellent connectivity to LEO spacecrafts, too. First, we characterise the communication link between space users and the actual OneWeb and Starlink constellations. A full set of results in terms of availability, access duration, Doppler, and path losses as a function of user orbital parameters, identifying optimal user orbits, is provided. The results achieved by a multi-system user able to communicate with both fleets are also presented. The potential improvements available if geostationary constellations are used to complement LEO mega constellations in a multi-orbit system are discussed, too. Finally, we focus on two LEO use cases, the International Space Station and an Earth Observation Sun Synchronous satellite. All the results demonstrate the numerous advantages of the mega-constellation connectivity solution, which is able to transform LEO spacecrafts into highly responsive nodes of a space-to-space networ

Quantum Stabilizer Codes Embedding Qubits Into Qudits

We study, by means of the stabilizer formalism, a quantum error correcting code which is alternative to the standard block codes since it embeds a qubit into a qudit. The code exploits the non-commutative geometry of discrete phase space to protect the qubit against both amplitude and phase errors. The performance of such code is evaluated on Weyl channels by means of the entanglement fidelity as function of the error probability. A comparison with standard block codes, like five and seven qubit stabilizer codes, shows its superiority.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures (improved version); accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Th17-skewed immune response and cluster of differentiation 40 ligand expression in canine steroid-responsive meningitis-arteritis, a large animal model for neutrophilic meningitis

Background: Steroid-responsive meningitis-arteritis (SRMA) is an immune-mediated disorder characterized by neutrophilic pleocytosis and an arteritis particularly in the cervical leptomeninges. Previous studies of the disease have shown increased levels of IL-6 and TGF-beta(1) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In the presence of these cytokines, naive CD4+ cells differentiate into Th17 lymphocytes which synthesize interleukin 17 (IL-17). It has been shown that IL-17 plays an active role in autoimmune diseases, it induces and mediates inflammatory responses and has an important role in recruitment of neutrophils. The hypothesis of a Th17-skewed immune response in SRMA should be supported by evaluating IL-17 and CD40L, inducing the vasculitis. Methods: An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to measure IL-17 and CD40L in serum and CSF from a total of 79 dogs. Measurements of patients suffering from SRMA in the acute state (SRMA A) were compared with levels of patients under treatment with steroids (SRMA T), recurrence of the disease (SRMA R), other neurological disorders, and healthy dogs, using the two-part test. Additionally, secretion of IL-17 and interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was confirmed by an enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) assay. Results: Significant higher levels of IL-17 were found in CSF of dogs with SRMA A compared with SRMA T, other neurological disorders and healthy dogs (p < 0.0001). In addition, levels of CD40L in CSF in dogs with SRMA A and SRMA R were significantly higher than in those with SRMA T (p = 0.0004) and healthy controls (p = 0.014). Furthermore, CSF concentrations of IL-17 and CD40L showed a strong positive correlation among each other (rSpear = 0.6601;p < 0.0001) and with the degree of pleocytosis (rSpear = 0.8842;p < 0.0001 and rSpear = 0.6649;p < 0.0001, respectively). IL-17 synthesis from PBMCs in SRMA patients was confirmed;however, IL-17 is mainly intrathecally produced. Conclusions: These results imply that Th17 cells are inducing the autoimmune response in SRMA and are involved in the severe neutrophilic pleocytosis and disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). CD-40L intrathecal synthesis might be involved in the striking vasculitis. The investigation of the role of IL-17 in SRMA might elucidate important pathomechanism and open new therapeutic strategies

Strategies for Sustainable Development: Organizational Motivations, Stakeholders’ Expectations and Sustainability Agendas

Society’s expectations of business are mounting and stakeholders are asking organizations to become more mindful of their interests. Companies are responding by becoming more involved in the resolution of social–environmental challenges. Their sustainability agendas, however, are often claimed to be ineffective and to lack strategic thinking. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the factors that determine the scope and features of these agendas. Specifically, we investigate organizational objectives (the starting point of any strategy) and the posture towards mounting – and sometimes conflicting – expectations. We find that pessimistic judgments about sustainability agenda effectiveness may have been too hasty from both a micro-level and a macro-level standpoin

Dalla CSR alla social innovation

La responsabilità sociale d’impresa (RSI) rappresenta un tema di grande interesse e discussione, sia per le imprese che per gli studiosi. Il dibattito si svolge soprattutto nel comprendere in che modo lo strumento possa essere migliorato e reso più efficace. Rispetto a questo tema, la comunità scientifica cerca di comprendere quali sono gli sviluppi futuri della RSI. Il tema dell’Innovazione Sociale si inserisce proprio all’interno di questo dibattito, rappresentando una opportunità per la RSI di evolvere in qualcosa di nuovo. In questo articolo si cerca di sistematizzare quali sono i punti di interconnessione tra RSI e Innovazione Sociale in maniera tale da sviluppare una piattaforma di lavoro congiunt