Lucia Parisi, Teresa Di Filippo, Sabina La Grutta, Rosa Lo Baido, Maria Stella Epifanio, Maria Esposito, Marco Carotenuto and Michele Roccella
Sturge-Weber-Krabe syndrome (SWS), also known as encephalotrigeminalangiomatosis and named the forthfacomatosis, recall the names of the authors who first describedit in its basic…
Abstract
Sturge-Weber-Krabe syndrome (SWS), also known as encephalotrigeminalangiomatosis and named the forthfacomatosis, recall the names of the authors who first describedit in its basic clinical, radiological andanatomopathological aspects. We report here 14 cases of Sturge-Weber disease. In 6 of these, despite what had been previously described in literature, an extension of the angioma has been noted in other parts of the body. The study of these subjects stresses not only the need for a pharmacological/neuropsychomotor intervention, but alsothe need of a psychotherapeutic approach, for the emotional and affective implications thatcould derive from this syndrome. The reported cases are similar to those presented in literature for their main features. In particular, two elements are interesting: i) the exceptional diffusion of the red nevousto the whole hemicorpo; and ii) the evaluation of the way the patients live the disease, which has not beenpreviously considered in literature. We can conclude that SWS is a multisystem disorder that requires the neurologist to be aware of the possible endocrine, psychiatric, ophthalmological, and other medical issues that can arise and impact on the neurological status of the patients.
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Iain McPhee and Maria Eugenia Witzler D’Esposito
This study recruited students who struggled to meet institutional deadlines for summative assessments. Increasing the number of diverse and non-traditional students in higher…
Abstract
Purpose
This study recruited students who struggled to meet institutional deadlines for summative assessments. Increasing the number of diverse and non-traditional students in higher education (HE) institutions presents challenges in learning and teaching in online, conventional and hybrid contexts, impacting on student academic success. The purpose of this paper is to expand our understanding of student perceptions of the factors involved in academic achievement.
Design/methodology/approach
Using qualitative methods and in-depth semi-structured interviews, 14 participants were interviewed. Using Freire’s concept of empowerment, and Bordieu’s concept of habitus, the authors explore student perceptions of assessment.
Findings
Results presented thematically indicate that student perceptions of the purpose of the assessment and academic qualification are at odds with institutional habitus. Several embargoes impacting on academic achievement were revealed.
Research limitations/implications
Shifting organisational patterns and modes of production within HE institutions have influenced the student experience of academic writing and assessment. Findings highlight the factors that impact on academic success in HE institutions for non-traditional students in particular. Social class and educational background (habitus) are not factors taken into account when students are assessed. This impacts on capacity to achieve academic success.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications for curriculum designers, and self-reflective practitioners on issues related to academic success for non-traditional students.
Social implications
The study uses two case studies from two countries, Scotland and Brazil, both countries have invested heavily to address the twenty-first century learning agenda. Issues of widening access have increased student diversity, however, embargoes on academic achievement remain powerful factors that require further discussion and study.
Originality/value
This paper fulfils an identified need to study how issues of widening access can be mitigated, in particular for non-traditional students.
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Anna Visvizi, Orlando Troisi and Mara Grimaldi
Big data is a buzzword of our times, and yet the awareness of what big data is, how it permeates our daily lives, and how it is applied either in the policy-making process or in…
Abstract
Big data is a buzzword of our times, and yet the awareness of what big data is, how it permeates our daily lives, and how it is applied either in the policy-making process or in the business sector remains relatively low. From a different perspective, while specialists, that is, practitioners and researchers, dealing with the technical facets of big data successfully uncover new features, new domains, and new opportunities related to big data, there is a need of evaluating and examining these findings through the lens of social sciences and management. This chapter offers an insight into key issues and developments that shape the broad and multi-directional big data debate. To this end, the content of the book is elaborated and the key findings are highlighted. In this way, this chapter serves as a very useful guide into the question of how big data is applied across issues and domains and how it is valid and relevant to all of us today.
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Maria Francesca Freda and Giovanna Esposito
The purpose of this paper is to discuss a reflexive process that makes a distinction between reflection and reflexivity, two processes the authors define according to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss a reflexive process that makes a distinction between reflection and reflexivity, two processes the authors define according to the mentalization construct. Next, it explores how the narrative mediation path (NMP), a novel multimodal counselling method addressed to underachieving college students, promotes reflection and reflexivity by enhancing student ability to mentalize their university experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted an idiographic case study on one of the ten groups of underachieving students who participated in the counselling sessions.
Findings
NMP narrative modes (metaphoric, iconographic, writing, and bodily) promoted reflection, and group-level inter-subjective steps were essential for the development of reflexivity. Furthermore, it was found that in each narrative mode, the students developed reflective and reflexive processes through the attainment of mentalization dimensions.
Practical implications
The adoption of the NMP has some implications for universities. Many underachieving students in higher education often have reflexive difficulties when examining their university experiences, so could be considered average mentalizers who tend to show bias in their university experience signification when under stress. Promoting mentalization development can enable students to use their resources strategically at university and improve their academic performance.
Originality/value
The NMP is innovative because of its multimodality: it employs different modes and media, makes use of both individual and group narrative levels, and is integrated in a single method, which enhances the development of reflexive meaning construction.
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Benedetta Esposito, Maria Rosaria Sessa, Daniela Sica and Ornella Malandrino
This paper investigates the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated service innovation in the restaurant sector. It explores the use of digital technologies (DT) as…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated service innovation in the restaurant sector. It explores the use of digital technologies (DT) as a safety-empowerment and resilient strategy in the food-service industry during the pandemic. It also investigates the impact of DT on customers' risk perception (CRP) and customers' intention to go to restaurants (CIR) in Italy.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the theory of planned behaviour and perceived risk theory, this study investigates a sample of customers residing in Italy. Multiple regression and mediation analyses are conducted to test the research hypotheses, adapting the logic model developed. Using the bootstrapping technique, this study also explores whether the pandemic has moderated the relationship among several variables adapted from the literature. Robustness tests are also performed to corroborate the analysis.
Findings
The pandemic has accelerated the food-service industry's digital transformation, forcing restauranteurs to implement DT to survive. Findings show that DT support restauranteurs in implementing innovative services that reduce interactions and empower cleanliness among workers and customers, reducing CRP and preserving CIR. Thus, managing risk perception is helping the restaurant sector to recover.
Practical implications
Practical implications are presented for policymakers to catalyse the digital transformation in small- and medium-sized restaurants. The results may also be beneficial for entrepreneurs who can implement innovative service practices in order to reduce interaction and empower cleanliness levels. Moreover, academics can use these results to conduct similar research in other geographical contexts.
Originality/value
The present research represents the first study investigating the relationship between the use of digital technologies and the intentions of customers to go out for dinner during the ongoing pandemic in Italy.
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Cinzia Storace, Serafina Esposito, Anna Maria Iannicelli and Carmela Bravaccio
To facilitate the reception and care of discharged patients, streamlining processes at the University Hospital and promoting a seamless transition to continuity of care services…
Abstract
Purpose
To facilitate the reception and care of discharged patients, streamlining processes at the University Hospital and promoting a seamless transition to continuity of care services post-discharge.
Design/methodology/approach
Hospitalised patients undergo the Blaylock risk assessment screening score (BRASS), a screening tool identifying those at risk of complex discharge.
Findings
Pre-pandemic, patients with a medium-to-high risk of complex discharge were predominantly discharged to their residence or long-term care facilities. During the pandemic, coinciding with an overall reduction in hospitalisation rates, there was a decrease in patients being discharged to their residence.
Originality/value
The analysis of discharges, with the classification of patients into risk groups, revealed a coherence between the BRASS score and the characteristics of the studied sample. This tool aids physicians in decision-making by identifying the need for a planned discharge in a systematic and organised manner, preventing the loss of crucial information.
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Benedetta Esposito, Ornella Malandrino, Maria Rosaria Sessa and Daniela Sica
The improvement of the agri-food supply chain sustainability plays pivotal role in the planet’s survival and in overcoming of climate disasters. Digital technologies that support…
Abstract
The improvement of the agri-food supply chain sustainability plays pivotal role in the planet’s survival and in overcoming of climate disasters. Digital technologies that support the collection of Big Data produced along the agri-food supply chain (SC) emerge as powerful tools to accelerate the ecological transition of the sector. Digital technologies can support the implementation of circular business models by sharing data across the SC, monitoring in real time the materials flow, automatizing some agricultural practices and improving the decision-making through the development of decision support systems. Despite the relevance of these arguments, there is a lack of shared frameworks and guidelines for the effective development of a “data-driven circular economy” in the agri-food SC. In this scenario, this chapter examines how scholars investigate data-oriented strategies to accelerate the ecological transition and the adoption of circular economy (CE) models in the agri-food sector (AFS). To this end, a systematic literature review (SLR) was performed. Twenty-nine papers were selected following a rigorous sampling process. Both bibliometric and descriptive results are provided in the first part of this chapter. According to the analytical framework developed, the selected papers were examined in light of the “reduce, reuse and recycle” (3R) paradigm. Moreover, an additional R was retrieved from the systematic review (i.e., redesign), broadening the analytical perspective. The results indicate that scholars have predominantly provided theoretical contributions concerning the role of digital technologies and big data for the agri-food circular transition from a macro-perspective. The findings are useful for policy-makers and managers, who can promote and implement the big data-oriented approach to facilitate the circular transition. Limitations and future research directions are also provided.
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Benedetta Esposito, Maria Rosaria Sessa, Daniela Sica and Ornella Malandrino
This paper aims to explore how the Italian wine industry discloses corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and quality certifications and the corresponding determinants…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how the Italian wine industry discloses corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and quality certifications and the corresponding determinants via websites. The study also aims to investigate the relationship between CSR practices and financial performance. The information consistency between the quality certificates reported on corporate websites and official database statements is also explored. Lastly, the paper investigates how the relationship between the size of wineries and CSR disclosure changes according to firms' geographic location.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyses CSR corporate communication via the websites of a sample of Italian wineries by adjusting the theoretical framework developed by Amran (2012) to the wine sector's peculiarities. Moreover, a cross-certification analysis and a moderation analysis were performed to fulfil the purpose of the research.
Findings
The analysis revealed the extensive use of CSR disclosure via websites. It was found that company size positively affects CSR disclosure and Quality Certification Disclosure (QCD), while geographic location slightly moderates the relationship between the two variables. In addition, a negative relationship between CSR disclosure and corporate financial performance and its reverse causality emerged. Moreover, for most wineries, information consistency between the quality certificates reported on corporate websites and official database statements was observed.
Research limitations/implications
The study's main limitation is that the search process was performed during lockdown. Therefore, the examined issues could change in the near future due to the shift in priorities that the COVID-19 pandemic is determining.
Practical implications
The results can help managers implement CSR disclosure and QCD practices to enhance stakeholder legitimacy and enable their companies to compete in strongly competitive international markets.
Originality/value
The paper represents the first study investigating online QCD and its consistency in the Italian wine sector.
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Giovanna Esposito, Maria Francesca Freda and Valentina Bosco
This study aims to examine the self-perceived competencies of 231 Italian students enrolled in a psychological degree program and involved in a practicum. It analyzes the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the self-perceived competencies of 231 Italian students enrolled in a psychological degree program and involved in a practicum. It analyzes the subjective perception of the competences that students expect to develop, acknowledge as developed and that might be inferred from tasks performed during the practicum; the level of expertise (novice, intermediate or advanced) of these competences; and the relation between the practicum facility and the competences.
Design/methodology/approach
This study administered an ad hoc survey comprising open-ended questions and used the Practicum Competencies Outline (Hatcher and Lassiter, 2007) as a framework for the content analysis.
Findings
The results revealed poor perception of some competency domains, such as Diversity: Individual and Cultural Differences; Development of Leadership; Application of Research and Ethics; and a frequent acknowledgment of Psychological Assessment and Professional Development. Before the practicum, the students expected to develop competence mainly at a novice level of expertise; after the practicum, the intermediate level of competences acknowledged as developed and inferred from performed tasks increased.
Research limitations/implications
The findings have implications for research on competence-based training, such as the necessity of self-assessment training evaluation.
Practical implications
Undergraduate psychology students must reflect on the value of psychological competences during their formative training to re-orient their learning process and build a competent professional role. Moreover, psychological facilities and university must share common objectives in training undergraduate students.
Originality/value
This study is the first attempt to analyze Italian college students’ subjective perceptions of psychological competencies expected or developed during practicum .