New business model and local governance in supporting social and environmental solutions: a social network analysis to evaluate the Italian local action group’s “Terra è Vita” role

Current issues, such as climate change and social and economic disparities, are complex and context-dependent, influencing several economic and social actors. Micro-small and medium enterprises that populate rural areas often have lower risks than other companies but less innovation and fewer financial resources and capabilities. Here, a local convenor could help support these enterprises to drive their social, environmental, and economic behaviours to safeguard natural resources, respond to social community needs, and fulfil their economic goals. The European Union’s Community-Led Local Development programme defines local action groups as actors who help develop and grow local areas in social and economic fields. We analyse this role, highlighting that by focusing on social and environmental issues, the convenor can stimulate changes in the traditional business model and the social business model characterised by the business ambidexterity involved in producing economic value that is also relevant to addressing the community’s needs. We study the effectiveness of a local action group in its convenor role for local actors’ behaviours on economic, social, and environmental themes. The study uses social network analysis to extract the network backbone that links 150 local area entrepreneurs according to their perceptions of the local area’s main weaknesses. The results are twofold: they indicate that the local action group is perceived as an effective convenor and that its activities are instrumental in improving local area stakeholders’ performance

An Innovative Model for the Sustainability of Investments in the Wind Energy Sector: The Use of Green Sukuk in an Italian Case Study

In this paper we present the technical-energy-economic feasibility of wind power systems. An Italian 1 Megawatt (MW) case study was considered to evaluate the importance of incentives in order to achieve the grid parity. Due to the severe reduction of incentives in the last years, in the present work we propose the use of Sukuk, a Shari'ah-compliant instrument used in the Islamic Finance, as an alternative financial instrument used to limit the extent of leverage associated with financing. The building cost thresholds necessary to achieve the grid parity and a profitable and bankable project are presented with a sensitivity analysis. In the framework of the efforts against climate change and the emission of greenhouse gas (GHG), our results evidenced the importance of incentives and the applicability of the use of Shari'ah-compliant sukuk instruments in order to provide a feasible and sustainable investment in the wind energy sector. Keywords: wind energy, grid parity, green sukuk JEL Classifications: Q420, L940, P48

Big Data for the Sustainability of Healthcare Project Financing

This study aims to detect if and how big data can improve the quality and timeliness of information in infrastructural healthcare Project Finance (PF) investments, making them more sustainable and increasing overall efficiency. Interactions with telemedicine or disease management and prediction are promising but still underexploited. However, given the rising health expenditure and shrinking budgets, data-driven cost-cutting is inevitably required. An interdisciplinary approach combines complementary aspects concerning big data, healthcare information technology, and PF investments. The methodology is based on a business plan of a standard healthcare Public-Private Partnership (PPP) investment, compared with a big data-driven business model that incorporates predictive analytics in different scenarios. When Public and Private Partners interact through networking big data and interoperable databases, they boost value co-creation, improving Value for Money and reducing risk. Big data can also help shortening supply chain steps, expanding economic marginality and easing the sustainable planning of smart healthcare investments. Flexibility, driven by timely big data feedbacks, contributes to reducing the intrinsic rigidity of long-termed PF healthcare investments. Healthcare is a highly networked and systemic industry that can benefit from interacting with big data that provide timely feedbacks for continuous business model re-engineering, reducing the distance between forecasts and actual occurrences. Risk shrinks and sustainability is fostered, together with the bankability of the infrastructural investment

An Evaluation of Energy and Economic Efficiency in Residential Buildings Sector: A Multi-criteria Analisys on an Italian Case Study

The aim of the paper is to evaluate by means of a multi-criteria analysis (Multi Criteria Decision Making - MCDM) the multiplicity of measures regarding energy efficiency and reduction in consumption of fossil fuels, with relative implementation of integrated renewable energy sources, for planning and renovation of single family residential buildings. The work analize the energy (thermal, electrical) consumed by a building of this type (an Italian case study), and, for the choice of the best technology to adopt for environmental heating (hot sanitary water and cooling), a MCDM model was used, which, in addition to economic evaluation, incorporates too energy efficiency, the reduction of CO2 emissions, the ease of procurement of raw material and the governative incentives available. Our results underline that the best solution concerns the installation of solar thermal panels combined with the heat pump. Keywords: energy efficiency, economic evaluation, residential buildings JEL Classifications: Q410, Q420, L94

Red hot chili pepper and hemorrhoids: The explosion of a myth: Results of a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial

PURPOSE: Spicy foods are appreciated by a large part of the world population but have been blamed for causing hemorrhoids or exacerbating their symptoms, although no epidemiologic studies have been performed supporting this hypothesis. In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial, we have studied the effects of a single dose of red hot chili pepper on the hemorrhoidal symptoms. METHODS: Fifty patients with second-degree and third-degree symptomatic hemorrhoids were randomly assigned to take a capsule containing red hot chili powder or placebo during lunch, scoring five hemorrhoidal symptoms (bleeding, swelling, pain, itching, and burning) on a visual analog scale. After one week, crossover treatment was administered according to the same methodology. Other treatments and foods potentially related with anorectal symptoms were discontinued during the study periods. RESULTS: Patients assigned low scores to their hemorrhoidal symptoms before the study and the scores remained unchanged during the 48 hours after both placebo and chili pepper treatment, the latter showing no statistically significant effects. CONCLUSIONS: There is no scientific evidence that a spicy meal based on red hot chili pepper may worsen hemorrhoidal symptoms and, therefore, there is no reason to prevent these patients from occasionally enjoying a spicy dish if they so wish

New Challenges for Sustainable Organizations in Light of Agenda 2030 for Sustainability

Sustainability is one of humanity’s most daunting issues at present. Increasing popula- tion, escalation of anthropogenic activities, industrialization, modern agricultural practices that pollute water, air, and soil around the world, and ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions mean that sustainability is now in doubt [1]. In response to these critical concerns, the world has come up with several initiatives including Agenda 2030. Agenda 2030 is a commitment to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development worldwide, ensuring that no one is left behind by 2030. Its adoption was a landmark achievement, providing a shared vision towards sustainable development for all. Its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets aim to end the plethora of development problems and deliver a better univers

Can Public-Private Partnerships Foster Investment Sustainability in Smart Hospitals?

This article addresses the relationship between Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and the sustainability of public spending in smart hospitals. Smart (technological) hospitals represent long-termed investments where public and private players interact with banking institutions and eventually patients, to satisfy a core welfare need. Characteristics of smart hospitals are critically examined, together with private actors\u2019 involvement and flexible forms of remuneration. Technology-driven smart hospitals are so complicated that they may require sophisticated PPP. Public players lack innovative skills, whereas private actors seek additional compensation for their non-routine efforts and higher risk. PPP represents a feasible framework, especially if linked to Project Financing (PF) investment patterns. Whereas the social impact of healthcare investments seems evident, their financial coverage raises growing concern in a capital rationing context where shrinking public resources must cope with the growing needs of chronic elder patients. Results-Based Financing (RBF) is a pay-by-result methodology that softens traditional PPP criticalities as availability payment sustainability or risk transfer compensation. Waste of public money can consequently be reduced, and private bankability improved. In this study, we examine why and how advanced Information Technology (IT) solutions implemented in \u201cSmart Hospitals\u201d should produce a positive social impact by increasing at the same time health sustainability and quality of care. Patient-centered smart hospitals realized through PPP schemes, reshape traditional healthcare supply chains with savings and efficiency gains that improve timeliness and execution of care

Environmental Product Innovation and Perceived Brand Value: The Mediating Role of Ethical-Related Aspects

Studies developed in the last two decades indicate that environmental product innovations can potentially generate competitive advantages. However, the ethical dimension, now increasingly involved in evaluations for consumer decision-making, has received less attention in academic research. Considering the above, our study investigates the mediating role of ethical aspects in the relationship between environmental product innovation and perceived brand value. To this end, we carried out a quantitative study with 336 university students who are end users of Apple and Microsoft products and services. In addition to investigating the main effect of environmental product innovations on perceived brand equity, we explore the possible mediating effects of ethical behaviors: (i) open-mindedness and (ii) concerns with privacy practices. Our results indicate that environmental product innovations need to be supported by the ethical aspects of companies to have a positive effect on perceived brand equity. Crucially, customers perceive value in environmental product innovation when they can confirm that organizations exhibit ethical correctness, particularly in the sector under study. We understand that our research provides advancement in the field of sustainable innovation. The study confirms that broader approaches, mainly centered on corporate commitments beyond environmental issues, are critical for environmental product innovations to generate perceived brand value

Using dynamic capabilities to cope with digital transformation and boost innovation in traditional banks

Financial institutions operate in a competitive, complex, and uncertain environment. A series of changes—many accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic—demand innovative movements from the organizations that operate in the sector. The emergence of new business models (e.g., fintecs) requires a realignment of the capabilities of traditional organizations, such as banks. Indeed, internal adaptations and the formulation of market strategies focused on a digital user are part of the current narrative. But how can it be executed? This article explores the relationship between dynamic capabilities and digital transformation. In summary, we present insights about how dynamic capabilities can drive innovation in traditional financial institutions based on the challenges brought by digital transformation. Starting from a Brazilian case study, we identified that external and internal contextual factors—especially the political-legal environment and cultural and governance issues—are necessary for stimulating the dynamic capabilities that should be addressed for digital transformation. Finally, we propose a framework that summarizes how dynamic capabilities enable the guidance of traditional banks amid challenges caused by digital transformation

Facciamo il punto: miocardio non compatto

Il miocardio non compatto \ue8 una rara patologia del muscolo cardiaco caratterizzata da una marcata ipertrabecolatura parietale dovuta all\u2019arresto del processo di maturazione miocardica durante lo sviluppo fetale. Non sono stati ancora definiti dei criteri \u201cgold standard\u201d per la diagnosi; \ue8 inoltre necessaria la differenziazione da quadri parafisiologici e da altre cardiomiopatie. Rafforzano il sospetto clinico la familiarit\ue0 per la malattia, la coesistente presenza di malattia neuromuscolare, fenomeni tromboembolici, anomalie elettrocardiografiche, aritmie ventricolari, dilatazione e disfunzione ventricolare sinistra, fibrosi alla risonanza magnetica, mutazioni patogene. Molti aspetti rimangono tuttora controversi e dovranno essere chiariti con studi multicentrici, registri e studi osservazionali