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Government communication is an essential part of the democratic process – it interconnects various stakeholder groups with the public, while also enabling the functioning of democratic systems based on values such as human rights, freedom of speech and public participation in governance. Besides promoting government successes or measures, government communication should foster mutual two-way communications between government organisations and different stakeholder groups. Specifically, communication about potential risks and hazards can suddenly appear and are subject to a different communication modus operandi. The accessibility and comprehensiveness of government information play an important role in how citizens make decisions and behave. In critical times, governments are required to meaningful crisis communication strategies to address the needs of different stakeholders. However, the Czech Republic as a post-communist country has not yet fully developed an integrated system of government communication with various stakeholder groups. The ministerial PR departments serve merely as technical support and media relations assistants for the ministers. This chapter presents research results regarding how the Czech Ministry of Education communicated during the pandemic crisis, how its communications were received by key stakeholders, and what pitfalls in communication it faced. The chapter presents empirical evidence of government communication challenges in times of crisis in a post-communist country and thus addresses the gap in government communication knowledge concerning the role of democracy and stakeholder participation in transforming societies. The chapter concludes with practical implications to prevent failures in future crises.

This chapter discusses what the working practices and professionalism of sports lecturers can tell us about the challenges of professionalism in further education (FE). This chapter draws on Jake's doctoral research in which he interviewed five sports lecturers working in FE colleges in England, about their identities and practices. In this chapter, Jake talks about his own experiences as a sports lecturer in FE and how his increasing disillusionment with his role led him to undertake doctoral research in this field. We explore constructions of professionalism within FE, and we show that through a process Jake identified and labelled as ‘competitive mediation’, the sports lecturers he interviewed used their experiences as elite sports people to navigate the highly performative environments in which they were working. The positives and negatives of using this strategy for them, their learners and wider society are explored in this chapter. We suggest that although Jake's research focused specifically on sports lecturers in FE settings, his insights can be applied more widely, we reflect on the importance of considering the impact our own diverse lived experiences may have on our sense of professionalism as researchers and practitioners.

The number of disabled students participating in higher education (HE) and availing support services has increased 268% from the years of 2008/2009 to 2021. Disabled students face a range of transitional barriers that their non-disabled peers do not, including ableist attitudes, and inaccessible environments. The PhD research upon which this chapter is based investigated the social engagement experiences of disabled students in HE. It examined qualitative data from 65 participants, with representatives from 19 HE institutions (HEIs) across Ireland using a four-phased, sequential and concurrent qualitative data collection methodology. This chapter will focus on one phase of this PhD research design, namely phase one, which captured the voice of disabled undergraduate students (n = 23). The research identified that disabled students value social engagement, but barriers impact upon students' social engagement, having their voice heard, their ability to form connections, affecting students' sense of belonging. Based on my PhD findings and my work to implement them, I would argue that ‘consultation’ with disabled students is currently taking place in its most basic form. HE needs to embrace the disruptive potential of disabled people and move from passive to active listening, from meaningless consultation to meaningful consultation and then to collaboration and partnership.

Research shows that there are mechanisms of information simplification that lead to the danger that first, laypeople rely on their own epistemological skills when assessing scientific claims. Second, laypeople underestimate their dependence on experts when they receive simplified information. This underestimation can be problematic because scientific knowledge, due to its complexity, usually cannot be fully understood without further advice from experts. Compared to laypersons, adult education practitioners can be expected to have a higher level of scientific literacy in relation to knowledge in their professional field because they are familiar with the structure of knowledge through their formal education. The present study examines whether the “easiness effect” also occurs in adult education practitioners when they read simplified and highly simplified texts about research findings.

The sample consisted of 1.267 continuing education institutions. For the survey experiment, particioants were randomly assigned to tree text types at the end of the survey: easy, less scientific and scientific text. We used the difference-in-difference method to analyze the data.

The study examined whether easily presented research findings influenced self-assessment and reliance on experts. The results of our study support the hypothesis that the easiness effect is also present among professional practitioners.

The use of clear and nontechnical language is essential for ensuring that scientific knowledge is accessible and utilizable outside of academic circles. This aspect gains particular significance in educational research, as it enables professional practitioners to comprehend and ideally implement, research findings in their daily routines to address and resolve real-world challenges in their educational environments. Previous studies have demonstrated that the way text is presented influences laypeople's perceived reliance on experts. Building upon the conceptual framework of the easiness effect, this survey experiment took an additional step by focusing specifically on a targeted audience: professional practitioners in adult education.

The purpose of this research is to comprehensively describe the legitimacy of the public library in the 21st century.

The research involved a comprehensive literature review using the Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA) database with keywords “Library” and “Legitimacy”, combined with citation searches and additional collections. In total, we analysed 159 research articles primarily from the 21st century, with some comparative analysis of pre-2,000 works. The final phase of the research investigated libraries’ legitimisation efforts across various dimensions, examining how they employ rhetoric and theories to maintain legitimacy amidst challenging circumstances.

Through this research process, five dimensions of public library legitimacy emerged; (1) Democracy, (2) Culture and History, (3) Communication and Education, (4) Economy and (5) Librarianship, with the most diverse literature being related to democracy, and its subsections intellectual freedom, neutrality, the public sphere, social justice and social capital.

The outcome of our results indicates that the evolving legitimacy of the public library in the 21st century has become multifaceted, compared to the elements of legitimacy in the 20th century. Contemporary public libraries can continue to utilise the dimensions of legitimacy identified in this study and can reconstruct their legitimacy accordingly.

In this chapter, we report on the perspectives of marginalised voices of disabled children and young people (CYP) in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank. The conflict has contributed to many of the barriers preventing the rights of children to a quality education, such as the lack of schools, schools in a poor state of repair, attacks and the threat of attacks on schools, teachers and students. The research questions focused on the extent to which the children felt they belonged in their school or community and whether they were included in the design of their curriculum. Eight focus groups with CYP using a variety of participatory research methods were used to elicit their views on inclusion and their lives under occupation. The findings reveal that CYP are rarely involved in decisions about their education. Using participatory action research (PAR), we learnt that CYP with disabilities can provide intelligent and astute insights into their lived experiences, and that meaningful learning can occur if creative approaches to teaching and learning are adopted. To remain true to the emancipatory, egalitarian and democratic principles of PAR, the needs of the research participants should guide the research design, create maximum opportunities for participants to take part in data collection and decide on actions to create change.

This paper aims to discuss the adequacy of restrictive measures. Providing a synopsis of a global movement toward the imposition of target restrictive measures. Questioning the success of targeted restrictive measures in obtaining behavioural change. Identifying a reversion to the implementation of wide ranging sectoral restrictive measures in an attempt to encourage immediate behavioural change. Accessing the success of using restrictive measures to encourage democratic regimes in Africa.

This study is a desktop research that examines European Parliament and Council issued Regulations for the jurisdictions of Iran, Russia and Belarus. Academic research is also used in identifying a pendulum swing by global legislatures with respect to the imposition of targeted measures to requiring the imposition of additional wide ranging sectoral measures.

Targeted measures can be circumvented using non-hostile third countries. Academic research identifies that wide reaching sectoral sanctions encourage regime change. Therefore, where targeted measures fail to give rise to their desired persuasive objectives. The legislator moves to introduce additional measures, also comprising of sectoral sanctions. Sectoral sanctions have been applied by the European Union in Iran, Russia and Belarus. The USA has taken measures to limit Russia ability to use Turkey as a transshipment hub. The African continent case study identifies the importance of creating an architecture founded on upholding positive governance and human rights standards. Failure to do so leads to a revolving system of authoritarian regimes, sanctioned by restrictive measures.

This paper is a desktop review composed by the author.

In this paper, the authors examine the strategies used to reduce labour costs in three public hospitals in South Africa, which were effective and why. In the democratic era, after the revelations of large-scale corruption, the authors ask whether their case studies provide lessons for how public service institutions might re-make themselves, under circumstances of austerity.

A comparative qualitative case study approach, collecting data using a combination of interviews with managers, focus group discussions and interviews with shop stewards and staff was used.

Management in two hospitals relied on their financial power, divisions between unions and employees' loyalty. They lacked the insight to manage different actors, and their efforts to outsource services and draw on the Extended Public Works Program failed. They failed to support staff when working beyond their scope of practice, reducing employees' willingness to take on extra responsibilities. In the remaining hospital, while previous management had been removed due to protests by the unions, the new CEO provided stability and union–management relations were collaborative. Her legitimate power enabled unions and management to agree on appropriate cost cutting strategies.

Finding an appropriate balance between the new reality of reduced financial resources and the needs of staff and patients, requires competent unions and management, transparency and trust to develop legitimate power; managing in an authoritarian manner, without legitimate power, reduces organisational capacity. Ensuring a fair and orderly process to replace ineffective management is key, while South Africa grows cohorts of competent managers and builds managerial experience.

Higher education institutions and their lecturers are strategic agents and main drivers that contribute to circular economy transition. This requires them to understand the key circular economy competencies and how to integrate circular economy holistically into their curricula with the suitable teaching and learning approaches. This study aims to support them by providing an overview on the characteristics of education for the circular economy (ECE) and suggestions to lecturers to further develop their curricula.

The data consisted of scientific articles (n = 22) describing circular economy courses in higher education. Qualitative content analysis with quantitative features was performed on the selected articles to answer the research question.

The findings confirm that the system’s focus is the key issue in ECE. However, to integrate circular economy holistically into the curricula, ECE should be implemented more widely in the context of different industries and market contexts to find innovative teaching and learning approaches. The demand side needs to be incorporated in the courses, as systemic transformation is also about transforming consumption. All levels of implementation and circular economy objectives should be included in courses to promote systems thinking. In addition, innovative forms of real workplace interaction should be increased.

As ECE has started to emerge as a new field of study, this article provides the first integrated overview of the topic.