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The need for specific skills and competencies evolves in response to environmental, social and organizational conditions. However, the model for certifying competence levels has remained almost unchanged for centuries: universities (and other institutions) verify and certify that a person has reached a certain level of knowledge and through a standalone solution. The output is often a signed and stamped document that undoubtedly contains limitations in the present international, multilingual and dynamic job market. Universities, educational institutions and consortiums are increasingly exploring how technologies enable and support innovative models of competence certification. In this paper, we investigate how blockchain technologies improve the certification system and generate added value for different involved actors: learners, educational institutions and businesses. An exploratory study is proposed to systematize the overall impacts of blockchain in the field of digital certification while focusing on university education as the main research field. We conducted a first set of interviews with key players of the two Italian universities that first adopted a blockchain certification system. The aim is to investigate, through different but complementary organizational theories, the value creation factors and conditions for the various actors in the blockchain-based competence certification ecosystem.

Agile working arrangements developed under the pressure of pandemic suffer lack of thoughtful planning and capacity to handle organizational bundling and path dependencies effects. We show that it is necessary to deploy collaborative and reflective experimentation that leads each organization to establish its own sustainable arrangements of post-pandemic agile working built on idiosyncratic traits. This entails a complex and aware organizational change initiative that we view in the light of organizational becoming lens. Taking this path we interpret agile working arrangements as a multi-authored pattern developed through social construction dynamics sustained by generative and productive dialogues aimed at negotiating meanings and managing paradoxes. Finally, we observe an experimental development of post-pandemic agile working arrangements in an Italian PA bringing some contribution from the field.

PurposeImplementing automatic sorting operations in the parcel delivery industry can dramatically improve both capacity and service quality but demands radical and complex organizational change. The present in-depth grounded theory study examined a change process of this kind within one of the few global companies in the parcel delivery sector, focusing on three European hubs where automatic sorting had recently been introduced.Design/methodology/approachGrounded theory methodology, which facilitates the gradual emergence and dialogical interpretation of empirically grounded theoretical concepts, was particularly suited to the current project's open-ended research design and the hybrid (prescriptive but also constructive) nature of the change process under study. The investigation comprised iterative cycles of data collection, open coding, selective coding and theoretical coding over a three-year period.FindingsIn keeping with the dual nature of the change underway, a set of tensions were identified between pairs of opposite poles: manual vs automated, planned vs emergent and corporate vs site. The management of these tensions, which leveraged both prescriptive and sensemaking approaches, was found to trigger knowledge production, facilitating a gradual transition from high to low uncertainty and, consequently, progressive movement along the continuum between each pair of competing poles. Within this process, the industrial engineering function acted as an agent of change with a key orchestrating role.Originality/valueAs one of the first in-depth grounded theory analyses of tension management, this study contributes to the relatively recent debate on the recognition, analysis and handling of tensions and paradoxes in organizational change, suggesting innovative criteria for successful change management and identifying promising new avenues for research. From a managerial perspective, the study outcomes suggest that explicit recognition of uncertainty and tensions in organizational change can pave the way for solutions based on agility and continuous organizational learning.

In this paper, we investigate how blockchain technologies improve the certification system and generate added value for different involved actors - learners, educational institutions, and businesses. An exploratory study is proposed to systematize the overall impacts of blockchain in the field of digital certification while focusing on university education as the main research area. We carried out a desk analysis, direct observation/focus groups and semi-structured interviews with key players of the two Italian universities which had first adopted certification and blockchain-based-certification systems. The aim is to understand the drivers and value generation conditions in the new scenario introduced by the development of DACS (Digital Academic Certification System) through insight into the relationships between actors in the ecosystem that characterize the different types of complementarities between actors and services before and after the introduction of blockchain-based platforms and the personal wallet containing titles and certifications. Three main findings arose from the study related to actors, ecosystem, and complementarities. The main theoretical contributions of this study is that it produces the first empirical evidence of the new Ecosystem Theory proposed by Jacobides et al. (2018). From the managerial perspective, this study contributes to better identify and debate the conditions and success factors unlocking value generation and benefits embedded in Digital Certification Ecosystems.

We draw on the grounded theory methodology to analyze an automation project in a global parcel delivery company, as implemented in three parcel sorting hubs in two countries, seeking to identify key factors in successful change and the role of the change leader. We show that a crucial—but often neglected—aspect of successful change is the detection and management of tensions stemming from uncertainty. By recognizing and managing uncertainty and tensions (in this case, manual vs. automated, corporate vs. site, and planned vs. emergent), the change leader, here the industrial engineering function, can orchestrate the differing views and expectations of corporate actors toward a successful implementation of a change program. In line with recent theories on paradoxes and tensions in organizational change, our empirical outcomes imply that effective leadership of change requires the conscious acceptance of uncertainty and tensions between opposite options in key decision areas.

One of the basic assumptions in spatial statistic is second-order stationarity, which implies homogeneity and isotropy. However, when using a spatial random field framework to model socio-economical or epidemiological data – just to mention two examples – it is often unreasonable to believe that the relationship between variables could be modelled as a realization of a unique stationary process. In order to provide a more realistic representation, we introduce a latent process which drives the value of the coefficients in a Cliff-Ord-type spatial autoregressive linear model identifying groups of observations with a similar behaviour. The latent process evolves as a Hidden Markov Random Field. This structure allows the topology of the problem to be taken into account when identifying groups. A simulation exercise is performed to investigate the influence of parameter values – estimated via a Markov chain Monte Carlo procedure – on the accuracy of the results. Criteria to perform model comparison in order to establish the optimal number of clusters are also provided. A case study referred to hedonic house prices in Boston illustrates the advantages of the proposed modelling strategy.

This paper offers a literature investigation on Organizational Learning processes stemming from Organizational Change initiatives, based on SNA analysis of bibliometric data. The intentionally open, incomplete and question-provoking research outcomes offered by this initial literature analysis represent form one hand a limit, from the other hand they may be seen as an opportunity to listen to the voice of the research community, to collect new ideas and suggestions before proceeding forward towards a better understanding of the fascinating phenomena at the intersection of organizational change and learning.

The aim of this exploratory study was to develop a blended learning approach to fostering the skills and competencies required by leaders and members of international virtual teams. Three levels of analysis were brought to bear in designing the proposed intervention format: first, the factors likely to influence the effectiveness of a virtual team; second, the needs and challenges related to the early stages of the virtual team membership; third, the role of the human resource function in promoting – via training and development programmes – the knowledge and skills needed for virtual teams to be successful. The research questions included: What are the perceived benefits and challenges associated with the early stages of virtual collaboration? What factors must be carefully defined and managed when running a virtual team? What training needs are perceived by inexperienced virtual team members? How can training and development initiatives contribute to the effectiveness of virtual teams? A qualitative approach based on the model developed by Bal & Gundry was used to analyse data from five interviews with virtual team members at Nielsen TAM Italy. The outcomes informed the proposed blended training programme.

In this paper, we explored the introduction of an automated parcel sorting system in a major company in the logistic and parcel delivery industry. Adopting a Grounded Theory approach, we carried out a study that highlighted profound and unexpected organizational implications and management challenges connected to the introduction of the new technology. Our analysis revealed the key role of the Industrial Engineering function as a change agent in devising and managing the introduction of the automated system. In particular, Industrial Engineering actually managed the organizational change by determining the right balance between several opposite dimensions (manual vs. automated; planned vs. emergent; local vs. global). Handling these tensions with a holistic approach may constitute a crucial factor for the change program effectiveness. Contrasting our findings with extant literature, we found resonance with latest works on ambidexterity, interpreted as a firm’s ability to manage tensions. The resulting outcome is a substantive grounded theory of ambidexterity in an automation enhancement program.

In the last decades, virtual teams have been increasingly adopted within organizations. Academic literature has studied this trend especially fo-cusing on factors affecting virtual team’s effectiveness as well as opportunities and disadvantages related to their usage. Nevertheless, there is a need to explore more in depth the kind of initiatives that the HR Department has to promote for sustain effective virtual teams particularly in terms of training and development actions. The research questions addressed in this research in progress paper are: What are the training needs perceived by virtual teams’ members in the early stage of their adoption? What are the perceived benefits and challenges related to the early stage of virtual collaboration? We conducted an exploratory study in order to promote a first understanding of factors likely to affect virtual team’s effectiveness with special focus on training needs in the early stages of virtual team membership. Our methodology consisted of a qualitative approach by in-terviewing five virtual team members of Nielsen TAM Italy. In this paper the results of this qualitative study are presented. The goal of this exploratory phase is to restitute a large part of the complexity which accompanies the creation of conditions for effective virtual teams and to identify the most critical issues to be taken into account for the further research steps.

The development of social leadership is triggered by the adoption of social media for internal purposes by organizations. It involves dynamics of collaborative and mutual influence between leaders and followers, and among followers themselves, mediated by social media. The aim of this paper is to ana- lyze individual attitudes to social leadership as a function of cultural and tech- nological factors. Using data collected from a sample (N=178) of employees, we developed and adapted multiple item scales from a wide range of sources in the literature to assess organizational culture, information technology and social media adoption, in addition to other individual and organizational variables. Regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between these vari- ables. What emerged was a three-dimensional model of social leadership as a positive attitude towards: shared responsibility, social media usage and direc- tion. In particular, organizational culture strongly influenced two of these three dimensions, while the use of social media for personal purposes predicted atti- tudes to the use of social media in organizations

We report the case of Mooren's ulcer recurrence after uncomplicated cataract surgery in a 61-year-old woman. This cataract developed because of repetitive inflammation of the anterior chamber and corticotherapy. Local and general corticotherapy with cyclosporin 2% drops was started in association with an anterior lamellar graft and a conjunctival recession due to a preperforation condition. Secondarily cyclophosphamide was necessary to control recurrence with a good anatomic result and an increase in visual acuity. The case updates physiopathologic and diagnostic data on this rare limbic autoimmune ulcerative disease. The diagnosis was made by histology and the dosage of specific autoantibodies against cornea. The prevention of recurrence after surgery requires a long clinical quiescent period, minimally invasive surgery long after inflammation has subsided, and a gradual tapering of corticotherapy over several weeks.

Mansonella perstans filariasis is widely distributed across the center of Africa and equatorial America. We describe a case of post-transfusional M. perstans microfilariasis in a young child, affected with severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria, admitted in Goundi Hospital in South of Chad. A decrease of M. perstans microfilariasis in the patient's blood was observed, with no subsequent development of either clinical symptoms or eosinophilia. We suggest that, in endemic areas, transfused M. perstans microfilariae may be cleared from the blood over relatively short periods of time. It is likely that only adult worms are responsible for symptoms and eosinophilia, whereas microfilariae in the bloodstream are unable to give clinical manifestations.

Extramedullary plasmacytoma is an uncommon plasma cell malignancy mainly located to the upper aerodigestive tract. Primary pulmonary plasmacytoma is extremely rare.We report two new cases of primary pulmonary plasmacytoma and then proceed to a review of the literature concerning 35 similar cases previously described.Complete or partial responses were obtained in 24 cases (65%). Five patients (14%) have developed multiple myeloma within 3 years following plasmacytoma diagnostic. In spite of sustained responses with radiotherapy or chemotherapy, surgical resection while feasible remains the first therapeutic option.

A research gap in the existing research literature on job crafting is the role of contextual factors on the proactivity of employees in redesigning and redefining their job at the task, social, and cognitive level. The purpose of the present mixed methods study was to address this gap by developing an organizational framework on job crafting focused on three main factors: a) autonomy and skill variety; b) organizational learning culture; c) HR policies and practices. Based on organizational learning and job characteristics perspectives, we collected both quantitative and qualitative data. We carried out a survey at the individual level (N=760) in order to test if organizational learning culture as well as autonomy and skill variety affect job crafting, and conducted semi-structured interviews (N=30) with managers in order to explore how HR policies and practices can foster job crafting. This study revealed that increasing employees’ perception of autonomy and skill variety lead to an increase of crafting at the level of task. In addition, increasing organizational learning culture and adopting a set of HR policies and practices that maps onto the organizational learning culture model is associate with an increase in social and cognitive crafting. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed

Nous rapportons un cas de recurrence d’ulcere de Mooren au decours d’une chirurgie non compliquee de la cataracte chez une femme âgee de 61 ans. Cette cataracte s’etait rapidement developpee a cause des inflammations repetees du segment anterieur et de la corticotherapie. Une corticotherapie locale et generale associee a de la ciclosporine collyre 2 % fut instauree en complement d’une greffe lamellaire anterieure avec recul conjonctival en raison d’un etat pre-perforatif. Un traitement par cyclophosphamide a ete secondairement necessaire face a une recidive sur le greffon, avec un bon resultat anatomique et fonctionnel. Cette observation permet d’actualiser les differentes donnees physiopathologiques et diagnostiques de cette ulceration limbique auto-immune rare. Le diagnostic est porte sur des arguments histologiques et le dosage d’anticorps anti-cornee specifiques. La prevention des recurrences apres chirurgie repose notamment sur une longue periode de quiescence clinique, une technique chirurgicale peu invasive et a distance du site inflammatoire, et une corticotherapie degressive de plusieurs semaines.

1. Nell'intento di portare un ulteriore contributo alla conoscenza della regolazione dell'attivita dello sfintere cardiale, gli AA. riprendono in considerazione un aspetto del problema che non e stato ancora sufficientemente indagato. Esso si riferisce all'esistenza di eventuali meccanismi funzionali di origine gastrica deputati al controllo ed alla regolazione dell'attivita tonica e contrattile del cardias. Adottando la metodica delValenti opportunamente modificata gli AA. dimostrano che l'anestesia con Farmocaina della mucosa della cupola gastrica determina una ipotonia cardiale spiccata e costante che perdura per tutta la durata dell'effetto anestetico. Le soluzioni a pH notevolmente alcalino (9 a 11) inducono modificazioni in senso ipotonico di scarso rilievo a livello del cardias, mentre le soluzioni a pH notevolmente acido (1 a 3) determinano una elevazione non marcata ma costante dei valori di continenza dello sfintere. La sezione bilaterale del vago al collo impedisce la comparsa dell'effetto ottenuto sia con l'anestesia sia con le soluzioni a diverso pH. 2. Gli AA. concludono ritenendo che i fenomeni osservati possono trovare spiegazione solo ammettendo l'esistenza di un riflesso gastrocardiale costrittore, le cui vie afferenti ed efferenti decorrerebbero nei vaghi. Gli AA. d'altra parte dimostrano nel fondo gastrico la presenza di cospicui dispositivi nervosi che per sede e struttura debbono essere considerati come giacimenti a significato tenso e chemocettore. 3. Vengono inquadrate le nuove acquisizioni nella visione generale della funzionalita e dei meccanismi adibiti alla regolazione del tono e della contrattilita dello sfintere cardiale.

203 patients submitted in the last 20 years to surgery, first by Smithwick's sympathectomy, then by Adson's gangliectomy and lastly by Telford's gangliectomy, were controlled. The frequency of true Raynaud's disease is with time decreasing and is found today in the minority of the patients suffering from Raynaud's phenomenon and surgically treated. Immunological tests detect frequent associated autoimmune disorders to be treated before surgery. Surgical indication is today selective. For this reason long term results are improving: 90% of positive results in the last series against 73% and 60% respectively in the previous series.