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The chapter provides a radiography of the 2014–2020 Cohesion Policy, focusing on both main continuity and innovation elements (in terms of objectives, implementation rules and financial allocations) and on some of the likely effects of the current rules on the new European Union (EU) non-euro member countries. The closer link between EU funds and EU economic governance, which has been introduced in the current financial period, has the potential to influence negatively the evolution of the EU regional development disparities, especially in the EU eastern periphery. These new conditionalities (ex-ante and macroeconomic), whose main effects, in the case of non-compliance, would be the suspension of EU funds, might deteriorate even more the economic situation, particularly in those regions with the greatest needs in terms of infrastructure or administrative capacity. The Romanian case is particularly relevant for this debate.

There is a consensus in the literature on entrepreneurship on the crucial role of environmental conditions in the identification, development, and quality of entrepreneurial initiatives. Given the relevance of entrepreneurship and the lack of evidence, academic debates request more evidence regarding the main determinants of entrepreneurial activities in emerging economies. Inspired by these academic debates, the objective of this chapter is to provide a better understanding of the role of entrepreneurship in Mexico. Our preliminary results allow us to identify applied research trends to study the entrepreneurial spirit in Mexico, as well as elements to discuss the myths, realities, and challenges faced by Mexican entrepreneurs during the last government administration. Our chapter contributes with implications for entrepreneurs, researchers, and decision-makers.

In the spirit of the theme of this current volume, this chapter offers a contribution to care/user-involved research in terms of a personal experience. It is argued that while recognizing how difficult it is for patients/care users to be ‘fully informed’, they should at least be ‘adequately’ informed. Full information can be confusing, daunting, anxiety-inducing and not necessarily helpful to the patient or service user. But adequate information can reduce uncertainty, return some power and sense of control to the user and consequently improve the patient experience. This experience is reflected by a former educator of health professionals who is now a full-time service user – hence the ‘expertise’ offered comes from both sides of the engagement. The focus is on problems associated with waiting for treatment.

The higher education after the pandemic has put the entire university education system to test, bringing to light the need to build a genuinely sustainable academic system composed of administrative, pedagogical, and governance processes with a social and environmental scope and oriented to the training of resilient professionals, with the ability to manage a sustainable future. Seen from a management perspective, the actors of this system have begun to work focusing on rebuilding the postpandemic world into a sustainable planet for the continuity of humanity. Regarding students, the most affected individuals by the health crisis, UNESCO indicates that the impact of the temporary cessation of on-site activities has affected them in various dimensions in terms of student stability, bringing with it more significant evidence of crises due to social, emotional, cultural, and familiar problems, among others. In that sense, the change of means of interaction in student environments represents a negative turning point in the future of professionals who are now receiving education. This allows us to reflect on the high risks involved in achieving the acquisition of not only technical and specific skills and competencies of the professional specialties but also social, ethical, and citizenship skills that take much greater relevance, especially in this context.

This chapter examines the introduction of Electronic Voting Systems (EVS) at a UK university with the aim of promoting and supporting the student learning experience and moving from an ‘ad hoc’ and individual basis for the use of EVS at the local school level to offering support for using and developing their use on a wider institutional basis. Following discussion of the research into EVS adoption and use, the authors propose a framework to be used by those academics and managers in higher education institutions (HEI) who are interested in introducing specific technologies to support learning, such as the EVS. The framework incorporates a three-way focus on the development of a robust technology infrastructure, the provision of support and training for those using new technologies, placed within the context of sound change management principles and thus supported by the research into these areas. Previous studies in Europe, the United States and Canada into the use of EVS as, for example, in the REAP (Re-Engineering Assessment Practices) project (Nicol & Draper, 2009) have indicated that students are enthusiastic about their use in the lecture hall and seminar room and that the creative use of EVS by academics enhances their use to stimulate and support a number of classroom interactions. To date, however, there has been a lack of research studies on institutional deployment of EVS. This work is intended to outline the salient issues and start that conversation.

Since the suicide terrorist attacks of September Eleven, security issues have become more prominent again. There is also an increased interest in the military since the military was and still is seen as a major instrument in the so-called ‘war on terror’. The current international situation has thus increased the importance, significance and urgency of a correct, broad-based research effort on the part of the social sciences to study the emergence and development of conflicts with an eye on the means of conflict resolution. In this context, it is also appropriate and necessary to analyse one, albeit ambivalent, instrument of conflict resolution, the armed forces. Today, the military is said to face new and broader tasks than in the past.