Giacomo Buonanno

This paper explores the implementation of Game-Based Learning (GBL) in higher education, with a particular focus on the dual role of students as developers and players of educational games. In particular, the study investigates the extent to which GBL leverages intrinsic motivation, fosters engagement, consolidates prior knowledge, and cultivates essential 21st-century skills in undergraduate students that designed, developed, and played interactive digital gamebooks on STEM disciplines. A mixed method based on surveys and focus groups was leveraged to assess the diverse learning outcomes and the educational impact of the project. Findings highlightsthat theGBL approach significantly increased student engagement, fostered deeper learning in IT-related skills, and provided valuable experiences in competences such as project management and teamwork. However, the integration of advanced academic content in Mathematics and Statistics was perceived as less effective, posing challenges to knowledge acquisition and consolidation. This study shows that while GBL is highly effective in promoting motivation and skill development, further refinement is needed to align content complexity with learning objectives.

Castiglione D'Adda is one of the municipalities more precociously and severely affected by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic in Lombardy. With our study we aimed to understand the diffusion of the infection by mass serological screening. We searched for SARS-CoV-2 IgGs in the entire population on a voluntary basis using lateral flow immunochromatographic tests (RICT) on capillary blood (rapid tests). We then performed chemioluminescent serological assays (CLIA) and naso-pharyngeal swabs (NPS) in a randomized representative sample and in each subject with a positive rapid test. Factors associated with RICT IgG positivity were assessed by uni- and multivariate logistic regression models. Out of the 4143 participants, 918 (22·2%) showed RICT IgG positivity. In multivariable analysis, IgG positivity increases with age, with a significant non-linear effect (p = 0·0404). We found 22 positive NPSs out of the 1330 performed. Albeit relevant, the IgG prevalence is lower than expected and suggests that a large part of the population remains susceptible to the infection. The observed differences in prevalence might reflect a different infection susceptibility by age group. A limited persistence of active infections could be found after several weeks after the epidemic peak in the area.

Nel contesto delle scienze sociali, e delle scienze organizzative in particolare, il ruolo della valutazione è riconosciuto come centrale, ma spesso è difficile definire quale rapporto intercorre tra l'operazione della valutazione e il concetto di misurazione. Rimane quindi il problema di identificare quali sono le condizioni che consentono di caratterizzare appropriatamente una valutazione come una misurazione. Questo tema è particolarmente sentito nel settore pubblico la cui complessità derivante dal tipo di processi di produzione dei servizi svolti, dall'assenza di mercato e dal forte influenzamento di valutazioni politiche rende particolarmente complessa l'attività di misurazione oggettiva dei risultati. Tant'è che nel settore pubblico è esperienza diffusa non solo l'enorme difficoltà di avere un sistema di misurazione delle performance considerato soddisfacente, ma anche il fatto che si tenda a tenere separate l'attività di misurazione dei risultati da quella di loro valutazione ai fini dell'apprezzamento della performance sia organizzativa che individuale. La norma stessa (art. 7, d.lgs. 150/2009) sancisce la separazione dei due termini (misurazione e valutazione) laddove la prima afferisce alla performance organizzativa, cioè i risultati riferiti alle strutture organizzative, mentre la seconda (valutazione) attiene alla performance individuale intesa come contributo dato da un singolo operatore al raggiungimento degli obbiettivi. Tutto questo armamentario normativo e logico in un contesto produttivo particolarmente complesso ha creato una cultura organizzativa che tende a non dare un efficace riconoscimento al tema della misurazione, spesso considerata troppo complessa da adottare. Sulla misurazione di conseguenza gli enti pubblici investono poco limitandosi spesso a rilevare semplicemente le attività svolte, preferendo l'adozione di valutazioni soggettive basate su stime e giudizi eventualmente condivisi tra gli interessati, ma purtroppo spesso incomprensibili dagli stakeholder. In questo lavoro si propone un'analisi di questo problema e si discute circa la sua applicabilità al caso della valutazione/misurazione delle competenze.

Advanced manufacturing technologies such as Additive Manufacturing (AM) are rapidly revolutionizing business processes within European and, in particular, Italian SMEs. A clear example is represented by the success of 3D printers that are achieving a huge impact on the market from both the companies and the customers’ point of view. This paper aims at investigating how manufacturing and logistic pro-cesses have changed drastically in the last years according to the in-troduction of the above-mentioned advanced manufacturing technologies. Recent academic literature is focusing on the integration of any ad-vanced technology with other infrastructures and technologies already implemented in a company. By considering 3D printing adoption, both in the product design and in the production management processes, it turns out to be necessary a proper integration with other technologies such as the software used to design a product (CAD) and the manufac-turing control cameras adopted to control the production process. At the same time, a proper strategic alignment has to be assured be-tween the implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies and the company innovation strategy. Consistency and coherence among all the strategic decisions must be guaranteed in order to create and in-crease the company business value. Furthermore, the acquisition of new assets, either tangible (e.g. 3D printers) or intangible (e.g. know how), has to be properly integrated with other tangible and intangible resources in order to combine them in the best way, so that the goal of gaining a sustainable competitive advantage would be reached.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) pervasiveness is changing the visitors’ expectation in the fruition of cultural heritage assets(e.g. artefacts, buildings, monuments). While owners of such assets have to face new challenges in the protection, conservation, management and active promotion of places they are responsible for, pervasive ICT systems (e.g. mobile devices and the Internet-of-Things) show significant opportunities as facilitators of innovative ways to engage visitors and measure their experience during the visit. New ICT based tools enable new data-driven business models that effectively aid the sustainable revitalization and valorization of Cultural Heritage. This paper aims at investigating how cultural heritage owners could digitalize the visiting process, measure the engagement of visitors with digital tools and turn data collected during the visits into value for their business model. In particular, results achieved by the AMAmI (Ancient and Modern, Ambient Intelligence) Project will be presented: a multisite real world experimentation of the adoption of digital tools (proximity technologies, mobile, sensors, user-location-based content delivery platforms and big data analytics systems) to deliver an Ambient Intelligence enabled user experience and thus strengthen the management policies of cultural heritage assets. Two case studies with different management model and physical environment will be discussed and compared: MAGA Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art sited in Gallarate and Masnago Castle Museum of Modern Art sited in Varese.

Even though companies have become efficient in managing information and logistics inside their boundaries, communication and coordination among partner, within an InterOrganisational Information System (IOS), is far from effective. In a global market where the success of a company relies on its entire supply chain, design and implementation of an IOS are mandatory. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), and in particular those inside Industrial Aggregations (IAs), could greatly benefit from IOS implementation, but a widely accepted model of IOS adoption is missing. This paper proposes a framework to analyse the relationships among the main players of IAs and presents its application to an industrial district.

Purpose - Proposes providing an insight about enterprise resource planning (ERP) adoption, highlighting contact points and significant differences between the way small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large companies approach such a task. Design/methodology/approach - The research is based on a wide literature review, focused on the identification of a taxonomy of business and organizational factors influencing ERP adoption. The deriving research model was incorporated in a questionnaire that was preliminarily tested and finally provided to a sample of 366 companies of any size. Responses were collected through personal interviews made by a dedicated team to a top manager. Findings - The analysis of the empirical data shows that business complexity, as a composed factor, is a weak predictor of ERP adoption, whereas just company size turns out to be a very good one. In other words, companies seem to be disregarding ERP systems as an answer to their business complexity. Unexpectedly, SMEs disregard financial constraints as the main cause for ERP system non-adoption, suggesting structural and organizational reasons as major ones. This pattern is partially different from what was observed in large organizations where the first reason for not adopting an ERP system is organizational. Moreover, the decision process regarding the adoption of ERP systems within SMEs is still more affected by exogenous reasons or "opportunity of the moment" than business-related factors, contrary to large companies that are more interested in managing process integration and data redundancy/inconsistency through ERP implementation. Research limitations/implications - The research model is based on the assumption that business complexity and organizational change are the most relevant variables influencing ERP adoption, and such variables are explained through a set of factors inherently limited by the results of the literature review. Practical implications - The results of the empirical research provide indication to SMEs willing to take into consideration the adoption of an ERP system. The same outcomes could be incorporated into the development strategies of ERP software houses. Originality/value - This paper contributes to enhancing the understanding of the factors influencing the evolution of information systems within SMEs with respect to large companies.

This paper presents the case study of a well-known Italian company (that we will call LSB) producing and selling high quality shoes all over the world. Today, LSB employs about 250 people and has 30 self-owned shops in many important cities like New York, Paris, and London. Until the beginning of the 90s, LSB was unquestionably considered the leader of its sector, while today, the situation has changed. Even if the overall performance indicators still show a healthy company that succeeds in its industry (thanks to its high quality products and the strong brand name), during the past few years, LSB has clearly underperformed with regards to its competitors. The analysis of LSB processes and organizational structure shows that the information management is a crucial issue; this case study aims at investigating the possible influence of the IS management on the evolution of LSB performance.