Addressing the societal challenges in organizations: the conceptualization of mindfulness capability for social justice

Social inequalities are partly caused by habitual organizational practices. In this vein, to overcome those, organizations now need to develop new organizational capabilities aimed at enhancing their attention towards societal issues. In our study, we apply the theory of mindfulness to explain how it may help organizations overcome habitual organizing that fuels social inequalities. Guided by the microfoundational perspective of organizational capability, we conceptualize individual characteristics, processes, and structures that collectively form mindfulness capability for social justice. We perceive it as an organizational capability that reflects the extent to which an organization possesses a collective social justice awareness, i.e., awareness of the impact on social justice in society through its organizational practices. We argue that, when adopted by organizations, mindfulness, by increasing the awareness of the organizational impact on society, helps notice, examine, and question the correctness of taken-for-granted organizational practices. From our perspective, this new capability will lead to changes in organizational practices that fuel social inequalities. Our study contributes to the literature on sustainable organizational development and mindfulness research in organizations. Managerial implications and future research directions are also discussed

The intersection between SMEs' business strategies and the phases of unexpected events: a systematic review of the literature

Framing of the research: Despite the relevance of crisis management for SMEs, existing literature primarily targets large firms, therefore paying less attention to smaller businesses. As a result, the manner in which SMEs transform their business strategies during the specific phases of unexpected events remains an unexplored research topic. Purpose of the paper: The present conceptual paper aims to develop a framework examining the kind of strategies that may be implemented by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) throughout the different stages of unexpected events. Methodology: The paper reports a systematic literature review (SLR) to summarize how SMEs react in times of crisis and illustrate core themes in previous research in relation to the phases of crisis prevention, response, and recovery. Findings: The study develops a circular event framework and illustrates the leading business strategies implemented by SMEs in different moments of unpredicted circumstances: (1) flexible planning, financial resources equipment, proactiveness, and collaboration during the crisis prevention phase; (2) cost minimization and cash flow protection, revenue generation - operations and business model pivoting, stakeholder relationships, and dynamic approaches during the crisis response phase; (3) business model re-configuring, and stakeholder and employee relationships re-establishment, in the crisis recovery phase. Research limits: The conceptual nature of this work stimulates further theoretical and empirical studies. Future research should empirically test and validate the proposed framework within specific research settings. Practical implications: The present research represents a useful benchmark for managers and practitioners to better understand what strategies are suitable according to the specific moment of the crisis. Originality of the paper: This study analyzes the evolution of SMEs’ business strategies in times of crisis from a novel perspective by pointing out the prevention, response, and recovery phases’ circularity

«Dietro è la casa, davanti a noi il mondo»: da UNIMARC a MARC21 all’Università di Milano-Bicocca

A library management system is the hub of all library activities, from cataloging, to acquisitions, to circulation, and the lack of an ERM (Electronic Resource Module) takes a heavy toll on day-to-day work. On the other hand, the choice of a new LSP (Library Service Platform) may present both advantages and challenges, such as switching to a different cataloging format. In 2021, the Milano-Bicocca University Library chose to adopt the Worldshare Management Services (WMS) LSP by OCLC, which meant facing a migration from a different management system, and also from UNIMARC to MARC21. The aim of this article is to share the pivotal decisions and moments in this transition from a cataloger’s point of view: in particular, it focuses on moving from a local to a shared environment, and on the ways the new format influenced cataloging choices.Il sistema gestionale è il fulcro di tutte le attività di una biblioteca, dalla catalogazione alle acquisizioni alla circolazione, e la mancanza di un modulo per gestire le risorse elettroniche penalizza le attività quotidiane. La scelta di una nuova piattaforma integrata, però, può comportare sia vantaggi che sfide, tra cui il passaggio a un nuovo formato di catalogazione. Nel 2021, la Biblioteca di Ateneo dell’Università di Milano-Bicocca ha scelto di adottare il gestionale Worldshare Management Services (WMS) di OCLC, affiancando al cambio di software il passaggio da UNIMARC a MARC21. L’articolo vuole condividere le scelte e gli aspetti cruciali della transizione, soprattutto da un punto di vista catalografico: in particolare, si sofferma sul passaggio da un ambiente locale a uno condiviso, e sull’influenza che il nuovo formato adottato ha avuto sulle scelte catalografiche

Recognition of cooking activities through air quality sensor data for supporting food journaling

Abstract Unhealthy behaviors regarding nutrition are a global risk for health. Therefore, the healthiness of an individual's nutrition should be monitored in the medium and long term. A powerful tool for monitoring nutrition is a food diary; i.e., a daily list of food taken by the individual, together with portion information. Unfortunately, frail people such as the elderly have a hard time filling food diaries on a continuous basis due to forgetfulness or physical issues. Existing solutions based on mobile apps also require user's effort and are rarely used in the long term, especially by elderly people. For these reasons, in this paper we propose a novel architecture to automatically recognize the preparation of food at home in a privacy-preserving and unobtrusive way, by means of air quality data acquired from a commercial sensor. In particular, we devised statistical features to represent the trend of several air parameters, and a deep neural network for recognizing cooking activities based on those data. We collected a large corpus of annotated sensor data gathered over a period of 8 months from different individuals in different homes, and performed extensive experiments. Moreover, we developed an initial prototype of an interactive system for acquiring food information from the user when a cooking activity is detected by the neural network. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that adopts air quality sensor data for cooking activity recognition

Digital Transformation Through the Lens of Digital Data Handling: An Exploratory Analysis of Agri-Food SMEs

This study aims to explore digital transformation and the level of sophistication in the digital data handling strategy by agri-food small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By developing an exploratory multiple-case study that involves fourteen food processing SMEs, this paper identifies a data processing flow made up of the following phases: data generation, data acquisition, data storage, data analysis, and data exploitation. In addition, it shows how data processing flow may occur in a number of ways, thereby classifying the agri-food SMEs’ digital transformation as paper master, digital wannabe, and digital champion. Hence, the article contributes to providing the conceptualization of a data processing flow, which includes the progressive stages in data management identified across firms by proposing a data handling strategy framework. Such a framework offers a snapshot of firms at various levels of digitization in their handling of various kinds of data, thus clarifying how the strategies of data processing flow occur

Brafv600e and Ctbn1 Mutational Study in Rathke's Cleft Cysts

Aim: Rathke's cleft cysts and craniopharyngiomas tipically involve sellar region and their histogenetic relationship is still matter of debate. Clinical and histopathologic differentiation of cystic lesions from the sellar region, that is, craniopharyngiomas (CPs) and Rathke cleft cysts (RCCs), is challenging and has great importance with respect to variable clinical manifestation and adapted surgical treatment strategies in both entities. The recent acquisition that adamantinomatous and papillary craniopharyngiomas bear distinct molecular alterations i.e., β-catenin (CTNNB1) and BRAFv600 mutations respectively, has suggest to screen for such alteration a series of Rathke cyst to seek a possible relation with one of the two craniopharyngioma type. Methods: Seven Rathke's cleft cysts were analyzed for BRAF and CTNNB1 mutational status by sequencing and immunohistochemistry. Radiological, clinical and histological features were performed. Results: None of the 7 Rathke's cleft cysts harbor BRAFV600E mutation. No CTNNB1 mutation was found. Radiological, clinical and histological re-evaluation of the cases confirmed the diagnosis of Rathke's cleft cysts. Conclusion: BRAFV600E and CTNNB1 mutations appeared, as most reliable factor for the differentiation between purely cystic CPs and RCCs, whereas tumor location, tumor size, and radiological parameter of the tumor were less consistent parameters. This study again confirms that craniopharyngiomas (CPs) and Rathke cleft cysts (RCCs), are associated with distinct pathogenic pathways

Variants within the immunoregulatory CBLB gene are associated with multiple sclerosis

A genome wide association scan of ~6.6 million genotyped or imputed variants in 882 Sardinian Multiple Sclerosis (MS) cases and 872 controls suggested association of CBLB gene variants with disease, which was confirmed in 1,775 cases and 2,005 controls (overall P =1.60 × 10-10). CBLB encodes a negative regulator of adaptive immune responses and mice lacking the orthologue are prone to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, the animal model of MS

Leading digital transformation through an Agile Marketing Capability: the case of Spotahome

Scholars and practitioners both acknowledge that agility is crucial in leading a digital transformation efort. However, empirical and theoretical research on agile capabilities in an international digital marketing setting is severely lacking. Drawing on qualitative research design methods, this exploratory single-case study involving the international digital frm Spotahome provides an empirical and theoretical investigation of a new marketing capability we defne as an Agile Marketing Capability. We identify its key theoretical dimensions and provide empirical guidelines to facilitate its implementation. This study has important implications for international marketing managers, suggesting what strategic actions are needed to deploy agile practices in their marketing strategies and processes from a practical perspective, in the context of an Agile Marketing Capability

Riding digital transformation in international context: the agile marketing capability

This study seeks to identify key theoretical dimensions of the Agile Marketing Capability and provide empirical guidelines needed to facilitate its implementation. Our findings extend current theoretical and empirical research on agility concept in the context of digital transformation and international marketing management