228 research outputs found
DECENTRARE L’UMANO ALLA RICERCA DI NUOVI MATERIALI. PER IL FASHION DESIGN
No full textPer molti anni l'industria della moda è stata al centro del dibattito
sulla mancanza di sostenibilità dei suoi processi e sul suo impatto
negativo sull'ambiente e sulle persone. Le rifl essioni sull'urgenza
di ridurre la sua impronta ecologica, di rallentare il suo ritmo e di
diminuire i suoi livelli di consumo di risorse si sono intensifi cate
(Fletcher, 2010; Th am, 2012). Recentemente, tuttavia, è emersa
l'idea che sarebbe utile chiedersi non tanto come la moda possa
ridurre il suo impatto, ma come possa trasformarsi in una forza attiva
e positiva, anche grazie all'uso delle tecnologie, incoraggiando
un nuovo rapporto tra uomo e natura.
Questo articolo si propone di rispondere alla domanda posta recentemente
da Ezio Manzini (2022): «Gli oggetti di moda potrebbero
diventare agenti di cambiamento positivo, per ritessere la rete
della vita che, negli ultimi anni, abbiamo così sconsideratamente
lacerato?». La questione può essere aff rontata a partire da due approcci
apparentemente contrastanti, ma in realtà profondamente
correlati, che caratterizzano il design della moda nel XXI secolo:
da un lato, è possibile collocare l'uomo al centro dell’industria
della moda e riaff ermare il valore dell'approccio human-centered,
anche nella manifattura; dall'altro, si può sviluppare un’azione di
decentramento dell'uomo alla ricerca di nuove forme di collaborazione
con i non-umani, inclusa la natura. È un processo costante
di accentramento e decentramento alla ricerca di nuovi ecosistemi
in grado di sostenere il futuro (Fry, 2009; Conti, Franzo, 2020).
Il contributo esplora queste due prospettive e le loro interrelazioni
attraverso una revisione della letteratura e l'analisi di alcuni casi di
studio signifi cativi: l’azienda tessile Botto Giuseppe, indagata come
esempio di attenzione alle persone coinvolte nel processo manifatturiero
e di narrazione della fi liera produttiva, e i living materials,
espressione di una visione postumana in cui la natura e gli esseri
viventi diventano materia con cui dare forma alla moda
Innovative methodologies for the didactics of fashion portfolio: a field research experience
No full textCentring and Decentring the Human: New Alliances with Nature and Technology in Fashion Materials
No full textSHAPING A PURPOSE-DRIVEN FASHION INDUSTRY BY DESIGN
No full textThe European Commission has emphasized the insufficiency of current sustainability efforts and the need for drastic emission cuts by 2050. New EU regulations, such as the Green Deal and the Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation, reinforce this demand for sustainable industrial transformation. Within this framework, the fashion industry faces major sustainability challenges due to its reliance on linear, profit-driven models. These dynamics foster overproduction and globalized markets, prompting a reevaluation of production systems. Purpose-driven enterprises have emerged, aligning business strategies with values and sustainability goals. This article examines how design can guide the fashion industry towards prosperity via purpose-driven models. As setting design goals shapes strategic vision, design becomes central in aligning innovation with sustainable objectives. Research shows that the design phase holds significant potential for sustainability gains. The author conducted an iterative study of European fashion firms, combining desk research with case studies to identify key purpose-driven practices. The resulting model highlights how companies voluntarily integrate profit with social and environmental impact. Three case studies illustrate the application of this model and its broader relevance. This work explores how European fashion firms use design to move from economic growth toward holistic, ecosystem-focused prosperity
How Digital Technologies Enable Business Model Innovation in the Energy Sector: An Empirical Study of Italian Energy Service Companies
No full textThe evolution of digital technologies has been expanding the business opportunities that firms can tap by leveraging such technologies. Business model innovation triggered by digital technologies allows firms to extend the scope of products and services they offer and create new markets. This trend is particularly relevant in the energy sector. However, little is known about how actually energy firms' business models evolve because of the adoption of digital technologies. Therefore, this article aims at shedding light on the business model innovation process enabled by digital technologies in the energy sector. To this aim, eight Italian energy service companies that innovated their business model by adopting digital technologies are analyzed. The empirical analysis allows to spot an archetypal business models innovation process enabled by digital technologies in the energy sector. The study contributes to the literature on business model and business model innovation by highlighting how digital technologies may promote the evolution of business models and by spotting an archetypal business models innovation process that can be implemented accordingly. It also contributes to the emerging literature on digital transformation, by showing how digital technologies can be exploited by energy firms to improve their value creation, delivery, and appropriation mechanisms
Performance Measurement of Collaborative Research and Development: An Exploratory Analysis
No full textCollaborative research and development (RD) requires specific management approaches in several aspects including the measurement of RD performance. This paper aims to contribute to the debate on how performance of different types of collaborative RD activities should be measured. To this end, we conduct an exploratory research based on case studies, involving four cases of multinational companies in different fields. We show that firms use performance measurement systems for collaborative RD which are different compared to the ones used for non-collaborative RD. Furthermore, such performance measurement systems differ depending on the type of collaborative RD projects that companies are involved in
A taxonomy of competition-based approaches as innovation policy measures to foster external knowledge search
No full textPurposeThis paper aims to provide a comprehensive view of the different competition-based approaches that policymakers can exploit to foster external knowledge search and their positioning among innovation policy measures. A growing number of companies have implemented initiatives to access external knowledge to increase their innovativeness, consistently with the open innovation paradigm. Competition-based approaches have received increasing attention by the private sector as a way to access external knowledge. However, despite their potential role as innovation policy measures, a limited attention has been devoted so far to investigate them from the policymakers' perspective. Design/methodology/approachTo this aim, a two-stage empirical analysis has been carried out to develop a taxonomy of competition-based approaches. The first stage leveraged a multiple case study methodology including a sample of 20 competition-based approaches, while the second one leveraged interviews with Italian and European key informants. FindingsThis paper proposes a novel taxonomy including eight competition-based approaches, which differ among each other in terms of policy strategy, scope breadth and output required. Moreover, this paper enriches a well-established taxonomy of innovation policy instruments with the identified competition-based approaches. Originality/valueThis study contributes to the current debate on innovation policy by providing a taxonomy that includes eight competition-based approaches that can be exploited by policymakers to foster external knowledge search as well as their positioning among the innovation policy instruments. The taxonomy will hopefully support policymakers in identifying of the most suitable instruments in the light of their policy strategy and objectives
Porcine circovirus 2 (PCV-2) genotype update and proposal of a new genotyping methodology
No full textPorcine circovirus 2 (PCV-2) is one of the most widespread viral infections of swine, causing a remarkable economic impact because of direct losses and indirect costs for its control. As other ssDNA viruses, PCV-2 is characterized by a high evolutionary rate, leading to the emergence of a plethora of variants with different biological and epidemiological features. Over time, several attempts have been made to organize PCV-2 genetic heterogeneity in recognized genotypes. This categorization has clearly simplified the epidemiological investigations, allowing to identify different spatial and temporal patterns among genotypes. Additionally, variable virulence and vaccine effectiveness have also been hypothesized. However, the rapid increase in sequencing activity, coupled with the per se high viral variability, has challenged the previously established nomenclature, leading to the definition of several study-specific genotypes and hindering the capability of performing comparable epidemiological studies.Based on these premises, an updated classification scheme is herein reported. Recognizing the impossibility of defining a clear inter-cluster p-distance cut-off, the present study proposes a phylogeny-grounded genotype definition based on three criteria: maximum intra-genotype p-distance of 13% (calculated on the ORF2 gene), bootstrap support at the corresponding internal node higher than 70% and at least 15 available sequences. This scheme allowed defining 8 genotypes (PCV-2a to PCV-2h), which six of those had been previously proposed. To minimize the inconvenience of implementing a new classification, the most common names already adopted have been maintained when possible. The analysis of sequence-associated metadata highlighted a highly unbalanced sequencing activity in terms of geographical, host and temporal distribution. The PCV-2 molecular epidemiology scenario appears therefore characterized by a severe bias that could lead to spurious associations between genetic and epidemiological/biological viral features. While the suggested classification can establish a “common language” for future studies, further efforts should be paid to achieve a more homogeneous and informative representation of the PCV-2 global scenario.</div
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