The Resurrection of Art and Human Dignity MAGNETS Case Study

To overcome social isolation and complete art production standstill, during the Covid-19 outbreak we chose the "blue pill” (The Matrix, 1999) in favour of an artificial, digital space where we transferred most of our activities and practices. Building on the idea that participating in artistic endeavours has a positive impact on psychological well-being and health and is a very good model to tackle current social challenges, we ran MAGNETS a collaborative art project in the digital realm. Through online interviews with the artists who participated in the MAGNETS project, we have discovered a powerful link between art and human dignity. In this paper, we argue that participation in collaborative artistic creation through the digital realm is a process that restores and reaffirms human dignity and contributes to "social healing”. We also call for more exploration of collaborative art in the digital realm as it offers a safe space where aesthetics is experienced through the process of creation and as a functional solution to a specific social problem. © 2023, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.

Who wants to grow old in Welfare Sweden?

The research presented in this paper focuses on social media usage, specifically Facebook, in times of the Covid-19 crisis when some Swedish citizens lost trust in their official institutions. Once Sweden decided not to comply with WHO recommendations, the great majority of the Swedish population rallied around the flag in support of that move. For those who questioned this approach not much support was available, so they turned to social media. We ran a survey of 371 Facebook users gathered around the "Dr Whistleblower oxygen for all” group. Combining quantitative and qualitative analysis, in this study we analyse the role of social media in situations when people lose trust in public institutions and are left out. The most interesting and surprising result of this study is the discovery of fear for Dr Whistleblower's future, and fear for participants' own lives. We argue that in times of grave crisis, when we need reliable information the most, we turn to social media not only due to its immediacy but also due to its ability to connect us with a much wider circle of people than our close circle of friends can do. Then, more than ever, we look for trustworthy information, we express our fears and look for help online, thus seriously disrupting the traditional news landscape. © The Authors, (2022). All Rights Reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual authors.

Open and social: portraying the resilient, social and competitive, upcoming enterprise

Purpose: This article seeks to characterize and assess a new type of resilient, socially conscious and competitive enterprise that simultaneously encompasses open and social innovation – aligning both business and social outcomes – and which will gain increasing importance in post-pandemic competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed method approach based on sequential deductive triangulation analysis (QUAN/qual) is used. First, data gathered from the Chilean innovation survey is used to quantify the percentage of firms implementing open and social innovation simultaneously, and to assess their relative performance in relation to other types of innovative firms. Second, a qualitative multiple-case study analysis reveals the perceptions of senior managers regarding the applicability of this approach in terms of building resilience and strengthening future competitiveness in line with sustainable development goals. Findings: Social innovation is a relatively rare event (7.2% of firms in the sample). While social innovation occurs equally in monopolistic and perfectly competitive industries, the authors' findings suggest that in order to adopt social and open innovation effectively, firms need to set entry barriers such as economies of scale. On the other hand, open innovation is a more common event (15.4% of firms in the sample), which correlates closely with absolute and relative performance indicators. Moreover, the results suggest that open innovation enables a greater understanding of societal needs, thus making social innovation more effective. Research limitations/implications: Theoretical developments coupled with descriptive and qualitative evidence reveal the innovative capabilities that up-and-coming enterprises may possess. The findings suggest that at times of far-reaching technological, social and political change, enterprises should share some of their knowledge and resources with wider society. Only then will more equal, resilient and cohesive societies be built. Originality/value: This article combines two seemingly unrelated literature streams (open and social innovation) in order to elucidate the enterprise of tomorrow, which will be capable of achieving sustainable development whilst reaching high levels of competitiveness. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Procedimientos en Microbiología Clínica (número 73, 2ª edición, 2021)

La pandemia por SARS-CoV-2 ha representado un reto de primer orden para los laboratorios de Microbiología Clínica, que han ido pasando por diversas etapas de dificultad, desde el desarrollo de técnicas caseras hasta la introducción en la rutina asistencial de las técnicas de secuenciación de nueva generación para la identificación de variantes víricas. Todo ello, pasando por una formación exprés en biología molecular, no tan solo del nuevo personal contratado, sino también de gran parte de las diferentes unidades que componen el laboratorio de Microbiología Clínica, unido a la demanda de una actividad desmesurada, a problemas de abastecimiento de reactivos, al mantenimiento de tiempos de respuesta cortos, a la constante evaluación e introducción de reactivos y nuevos marcadores de diagnóstico y seguimiento, a la realización de una vigilancia microbiológica con capacidad de aportar datos relevantes en la toma de decisiones y a la constante demanda de asesoramiento, de una forma especial por parte de la asistencia primaria, las autoridades en salud pública y la comunidad, esta última a través de los medios de comunicación.

Open and social: portraying the resilient, social and competitive, upcoming enterprise

Purpose: This article seeks to characterize and assess a new type of resilient, socially conscious and competitive enterprise that simultaneously encompasses open and social innovation – aligning both business and social outcomes – and which will gain increasing importance in post-pandemic competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed method approach based on sequential deductive triangulation analysis (QUAN?qual) is used. First, data gathered from the Chilean innovation survey is used to quantify the percentage of firms implementing open and social innovation simultaneously, and to assess their relative performance in relation to other types of innovative firms. Second, a qualitative multiple-case study analysis reveals the perceptions of senior managers regarding the applicability of this approach in terms of building resilience and strengthening future competitiveness in line with sustainable development goals. Findings: Social innovation is a relatively rare event (7.2% of firms in the sample). While social innovation occurs equally in monopolistic and perfectly competitive industries, the authors’ findings suggest that in order to adopt social and open innovation effectively, firms need to set entry barriers such as economies of scale. On the other hand, open innovation is a more common event (15.4% of firms in the sample), which correlates closely with absolute and relative performance indicators. Moreover, the results suggest that open innovation enables a greater understanding of societal needs, thus making social innovation more effective. Research limitations/implications: Theoretical developments coupled with descriptive and qualitative evidence reveal the innovative capabilities that up-and-coming enterprises may possess. The findings suggest that at times of far-reaching technological, social and political change, enterprises should share some of their knowledge and resources with wider society. Only then will more equal, resilient and cohesive societies be built. Originality/value: This article combines two seemingly unrelated literature streams (open and social innovation) in order to elucidate the enterprise of tomorrow, which will be capable of achieving sustainable development whilst reaching high levels of competitiveness. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.