Relaciones virtuosas. Empresas y asociaciones frente a la Responsabilidad Social Corporativa

La Responsabilidad Social Corporativa (RSC) emerge como un fenómeno comunicativo interesante, presentando ejemplos relevantes que muestran que es posible conciliar los valores éticos con los objetivos de las empresas. Si en el pasado este tipo de acciones se interpretaban como un intento de la empresa para conquistar al consumidor, sin que hubiera una implicación real en los temas sociales propuestos, a día de hoy se erige como objetivo la construcción de una relación diferente entre la empresa, el consumidor y el contexto social. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de una investigación que estudia la comunicación de la RSC. Se han analizado en profundidad 10 proyectos realizados por 10 empresas y una decena de asociaciones. Para conseguir los objetivos de la investigación se ha utilizado una metodología de análisis cualitativo: a) el análisis de las páginas web de las asociaciones y de las empresas implicadas en los proyectos, para poder identificar las modalidades comunicativas de las iniciativas y enmarcar así el proyecto seleccionado en un contexto comunicativo más amplio para ambos socios; b) realización de entrevistas en profundidad de al menos un representante de cada uno de los socios (en total se han realizado 23 entrevistas); c) el estudio de los materiales utilizados en el proceso de producción y comunicación de la iniciativa y el análisis del contenido de los mismos. Los datos de los casos analizados y la articulación de los resultados obtenidos se han seleccionado, refutado e interpretado en base a un objetivo concreto: identificar, a pesar de su heterogeneidad ineludible, los elementos que comparten todos los proyectos y que favorecen la posibilidad de incrementar y reforzar el “espacio” que los proyectos de responsabilidad social corporativa están intentando conquistar en el escenario más amplio y variado de la comunicación social. Se considera que a la colaboración entre empresas y asociaciones es una relación comunicativa y, por tanto, se ha analizado desde el punto de vista relacional y dialógico.Corporate social responsibility is coming out as an interesting communicative phenomenon, suggesting important examples as it’s possible to bring out the aims of ethic values with business organization goals. If in the past this action was an attempt of the companies to win consumers without a real involvement of the social subjects suggested, nowadays it has to create a different relationship among companies, consumers and social context. This work shows the results of a research about the corporate social responsibility communication. Ten projects carried out by ten companies and by as many other associations have been analysed. The research used qualitative methods: a) the analysis of web sites of associations and companies involved in the projects, to identify and analyse the communicative strategies and arrange the selected project in the wider communicative context of both partners; b) interviews to a referent of each partner at least (23 interview have been carried out); c) the analysis of materials communication both partners. The wealth of the analysed experiences and the results achieved are here selected and interpreted as regards a precise aim: to identify –even if in their heterogeneity- those peculiarities you find in every project and that are able to increase and reinforce the «space» that projects of corporate social responsibility are hardly acquiring within the social communication. The partnership between business organizations and associations is considered a communicative relationship and so analysed from a relational and dialogic point of view

Towards new scenarios of public communication. Considerations on the Italian case

In recent years, the Italian public communication has gone through a period of great ferment that involved actors, regulations, tools and technologies, skills and expertise. The article focuses on the development of public communication in little more than ten years after the law 150/2000, in order to identify new challenges and solicitations. In fact, tracing the path of change provide some remarks upon development of communication of public administration and the many professional competence that today move around it and contribute to its re-definition, urging some changes and especially highlighting the need to develop reflexivity and high awareness in acting communicative, more and more called upon to combine transparence, visibility and accountability.En los últimos años, la comunicación pública italiana ha pasado por un período de gran agitación donde se han involucrado actores, regulaciones, herramientas y tecnologías, habilidades y experiencia. Este artículo se centra en el desarrollo de la comunicación pública en poco más de diez años, tras la ley 150/2000, con el fin de identificar nuevos retos y requerimientos. De hecho, el rastreo del camino del cambio proporciona algunas observaciones sobre el desarrollo de la comunicación de la administración pública y la gran competencia profesional que hoy la rodea. Además, contribuye a su redefinición, impulsando algunos cambios y destacando especialmente la necesidad de desarrollar reflexividad y alta conciencia para la actuación comunicativa, a la que cada vez más se les pide combinar transparencia, visibilidad y rendición de cuentas

In Brief: Myeloid-derived suppressor cells in cancer

The role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in cancer development has become clear over recent years, and MDSC targeting is an emerging opportunity for enhancing the effectiveness of current anticancer therapies. As MDSCs are not only able to limit anti-tumour T-cell responses, but also to promote tumour angiogenesis and invasion, their monitoring has prognostic and predictive value. Herein, we review the key features of MDSCs in cancer promotion

Metabolic syndrome and the immunological affair with the blood-brain barrier

Copyright © 2015 Mauro, De Rosa, Marelli-Berg and Solito. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms

Does Neuroinflammation Underlie the Cognitive Changes Observed With Dietary Interventions?

Dietary interventions, such as calorie restriction and ketogenic diet, have been extensively studied in ageing research, including in cognitive decline. Epidemiological studies indicate beneficial effects of certain dietary regimes on mental health, including mood disorders and dementia. However, randomised-controlled trials (the gold-standard of evidence-based medicine) on calorie restriction diets and the ketogenic diet have yet to show clinically convincing effects in neuropsychiatric disorders. This review will examine the quality of studies and evidence base for the ketogenic and calorie restriction diets in common neuropsychiatric conditions, collating findings from preclinical experiments, case reports or small clinical studies, and randomised controlled clinical trials. The major cellular mechanisms that mediate the effects of these dietary interventions on brain health include neuroinflammation, neuroprotection, and neuromodulation. We will discuss the studies that have investigated the roles of these pathways and their interactions. Popularity of the ketogenic and calorie restriction diets has grown both in the public domain and in psychiatry research, allowing for informed review of the efficacy, the limitations, and the side effects of these diets in specific patient populations. In this review we will summarise the clinical evidence for these diets in neuropsychiatry and make suggestions to improve clinical translation of future research studies

Microglia Function in Alzheimer’s Disease

Contrary to early views, we now know that systemic inflammatory/immune responses transmit to the brain. The microglia, the resident “macrophages” of the brain’s innate immune system, are most responsive, and increasing evidence suggests that they enter a hyper-reactive state in neurodegenerative conditions and aging. As sustained over-production of microglial pro-inflammatory mediators is neurotoxic, this raises great concern that systemic inflammation (that also escalates with aging) exacerbates or possibly triggers, neurological diseases (Alzheimer’s, prion, motoneuron disease). It is known that inflammation has an essential role in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), since amyloid-β (Aβ) is able to activate microglia, initiating an inflammatory response, which could have different consequences for neuronal survival. On one hand, microglia may delay the progression of AD by contributing to the clearance of Aβ, since they phagocyte Aβ and release enzymes responsible for Aβ degradation. Microglia also secrete growth factors and anti-inflammatory cytokines, which are neuroprotective. In addition, microglia removal of damaged cells is a very important step in the restoration of the normal brain environment, as if left such cells can become potent inflammatory stimuli, resulting in yet further tissue damage. On the other hand, as we age microglia become steadily less efficient at these processes, tending to become over-activated in response to stimulation and instigating too potent a reaction, which may cause neuronal damage in its own right. Therefore, it is critical to understand the state of activation of microglia in different AD stages to be able to determine the effect of potential anti-inflammatory therapies. We discuss here recent evidence supporting both the beneficial or detrimental performance of microglia in AD, and the attempt to find molecules/biomarkers for early diagnosis or therapeutic interventions

En una escala de todo el municipio. Uso de redes sociales en municipios italianos: información e interacción

La contribución tiene como objetivo investigar el papel de las redes sociales en los gobiernos locales italianos en el escenario de «modelos de madurez», entre el uso informativo e interactivo de los medios digitales. En particular, el documento presenta los resultados de un estudio piloto en una pequeña muestra de municipios italianos que generalmente adoptan sus perfiles de Facebook para comunicarse con los ciudadanos. Incluso si se dedican muchos trabajos empíricos a este tema, se presta menos atención a las necesidades y expectativas de los ciudadanos en la literatura. El artículo tiene el propósito de proporcionar una mejor comprensión de los comportamientos de los ciudadanos en las páginas institucionales de Fb con el propósito más amplio de explorar qué significa «información» e «interacción» en la relación específica ciudadano-municipal en un entorno digital.Como sugieren los resultados, el uso de las redes sociales basado en la información es necesario para mejorar la calidad de vida de los ciudadanos y su uso efectivo de los servicios públicos. Los municipios, que explotan su «proximidad», tienen un papel fundamental como «centro de información», a través de la integración y reconexión de los contenidos de información, ya sean de producción propia o producidos por otras partes interesadas.The contribution aims at investigating the role of social media in the Italian local governments in the «maturity models» scenario, between informative and interac-tive use of digital media. In particular, the paper presents the results of a pilot study on a little sample of Italian municipalities who usually adopt their Facebook profiles to communicate with citizens. Even if many empirical works are devoted to this issue, less attention is paid at the citizens’ needs and expectations in lite-rature. The article has the purpose to provide a better understanding of citizens’ behaviors on institutional Fb’s pages with the wider purpose to explore what «in-formation» and «interaction» mean in the specific relationship citizen- municipal in a digital environment. As findings suggest, the information-based use of social media is necessary to improve citizens’ quality of life and their effective use of public services. Munici-palities, exploiting their «proximity», have a pivotal role as «hub of information», through the integration and reconnection of information contents whether self-produced or produced by other stakeholders