7. Occupational Selection and Accessibility of Education: Institutional Reforms and Public Resources

The rapid advancement of digital technologies has reshaped education, yet significant barriers persist in ensuring equitable access for students with disabilities. Digital accessibility in education extends beyond technological solutions, requiring institutional commitment, policy reform, and faculty preparedness. This study examines the challenges and opportunities associated with digital accessibility in higher education and workplace inclusion, emphasizing systemic barriers such as inadequate assistive technologies, inaccessible Learning Management Systems (LMSs), and insufficient faculty training. The findings highlight the transformative potential of adaptive learning strategies, including artificial intelligence (AI), extended reality (XR), and human-computer interaction (HCI), in fostering personalized and inclusive learning environments. However, ethical concerns, algorithmic biases, and inconsistent implementation pose substantial obstacles to their effectiveness. The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed critical shortcomings in digital accessibility policies, disproportionately affecting students and employees with disabilities and underscoring the need for inclusive digital literacy initiatives. Addressing these challenges necessitates a holistic approach that integrates universal design principles, strengthens faculty training programs, and fosters interdisciplinary collaboration between educators, policymakers, and technologists. Through this review, sustained investment in assistive technologies is advocated, along with regulatory frameworks mandating digital inclusivity, and the development of digital learning ecosystems. By embedding accessibility as a fundamental component of educational and employment policies, institutions can mitigate the digital divide and advance equitable opportunities for all learners.

The differences between China and the western countries in political and economic systems also lead to the differences in fiscal functions, and public institutions in China is a representative example. Generally, public institutions in China are led by government departments and have strong dependence on fiscal funds, with an obvious official and civilian duality. Public institutions in China can be regarded as a unique financial phenomenon, which requires us to think about the reform of China’s public institution from the perspective of the fiscal logic. This paper constructs a fiscal logic model by integrating five influential fiscal paradigms in China, and systematically discusses the logical relations among such elements as public finance, public needs, human community, nation, public goods, public risks and fiscal risks. The human community is the logic starting point of the model, the human community generates public needs and forms nation. Public needs is the logical core of the model and the origin of public finance. The model enriches the connotation of public needs from the two aspects of affording public goods and preventing public risks, and shows the relationship between nation and public finance in China through national governance. According to the model, this paper analyzes the reform of public institutions in China from the two aspects of public needs and national governance. On the one hand, it emphasizes that the reform of public institutions should be based on public needs. The reform of public institutions should stick to the direction of public service. It presents the classification method of public institutions based on public risks, meanwhile it puts forward that the reform should avoid the monopoly risk of public service; On the other hand, the reform of public institutions should reflect national governance. We can better meet the goal of national governance by establishing multi-center public service mode, innovating fiscal supply mode and setting up capital concept.

In the vast literature on natural disasters one aspect is largely unexplored, and this is the two-way relationship between natural disasters and the performance of public (government) institutions responsible for mitigating these natural disasters. The first relationship is that poor performance of public institutions responsible for mitigating natural disasters worsens the impact of natural disasters. The disaster literature is silent on the second relationship that, I argue, exists between natural disasters and public institutions: natural disasters can overwhelm the public institutions responsible for mitigating natural disasters and, as a result, it may make them even more ineffective. This paper is my attempt to fill this gap. I argue that this two-way relationship creates a particularly serious problem for developing countries, having the potential to trap developing countries in a vicious cycle: poor performance of public institutions triggering natural disasters, and natural disasters making public institutions more ineffective by overwhelming them. The exploration of this two-way relationship is necessary to have a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which natural disasters can detrimentally impact developing countries. The paper concludes that to break this vicious cycle, as a first step developing countries need to focus on institutional reform. Reform proposals should aim at improving the performance of the public institutions that are directly responsible for mitigating natural disasters. To address this challenge, scholars and governments must specifically identify the public institutions that are responsible for particular activities under review. Only then can the following questions be explored: what are the weaknesses of such public institutions, and how can their performance be improved?

Path dependence literature largely accepts that large-scale disasters trigger abnormal times that weaken path dependence and create windows of opportunity to bring about institutional reforms. Disaster literature insists that lessons must be learnt from past disasters, so that damage caused by future disasters can be mitigated. Yet experience suggests that institutional reforms are rarely implemented post catastrophic disasters. This paper examines factors that might explain why the windows of opportunity triggered by disasters are missed in some cases, while seized in others. This question is explored by juxtaposing two case studies: the Gorkha 2015 earthquakes (Nepal) and the Uttarakhand 2013 flood (India), the worst natural disasters to have struck the regions. Analyzed through the insights of path dependence, the case studies reveal that post disasters institutional reforms were implemented in Nepal, aimed at improving implementation of building construction and zonal laws by public institutions. However, no such institutional reforms were implemented in India, specifically Uttarakhand. A comparative analysis identifies similarities and differences in actions taken by public institutions before and after the disasters aiming to improve public institutions’ implementation of laws, to explore factors explaining the contrasting outcomes. The paper reveals key distinctions highlighting the critical role of (a) gradual reforms taken during normal times and its influence on actions taken during abnormal times; and (b) negative feedback provided by public institutions responsible for implementing building construction and zonal laws (implementing agencies), and by other public institutions, and denial or acknowledgement of such critique by implementing agencies. Based on the findings, the paper elaborates policy suggestions that may aid in mitigating the possibility of abnormal times repeatedly becoming missed opportunities. More specifically, this paper provides a starting point for exploring what might be done during normal times so that when disasters do occur in the future, these opportunities can be seized and used to bring about reforms to improve public institutional functioning.

Research Question: What is the impact of the performance audit missions on the activity of the Romanian public institutions? Motivation: Public resources' management and use, public sector entities' performance, in the context of the economic environment turbulences and of the complexity and heterogeneity of the public services demand are of interest to a wide range of interested parties. Thus, the informational valences of the performance audit represent for the public sector management, a credible and relevant information source to substantiate the decision-making process focused on performance and circumscribed to the community members. Idea: The paper includes an empirical research on the investigation of the public sector management perception regarding the impact of the performance audit missions performed by the Romanian Court of Accounts, on the public institutions activity. Data: Information regarding the performed missions and the entities subject to performance audit was collected by reviewing the Romanian Court of Accounts' portfolio of publications (available online on the institution's official website). The email addresses of the respondents were collected by consulting the official web pages of the audited entities (contact section). Tools: The research is based on the study of the public sector management’s perception regarding the performance audit missions performed by the Romanian Court of Accounts. In this regard, we developed and disseminated questionnaires to the management of public sector entities subject to performance audit within the period 2015-2019. Complementarily, in order to identify the tendencies and the respondents’ homogeneous perceptions, the descriptive analysis is completed by cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling. Data processing, clustering and the results’ analysis were performed using the SPSS statistical software. Findings: The research results show that performance auditing contributes to improving the economicity, efficiency and effectiveness in the public resources use, but its usefulness is inversely proportional to the professional experience of the respondents within the audited entity. The respondents also consider that the performance audits’ objectives are appropriate to the sensitive areas related to the activity of public institutions, and their results provide a fair image regarding the public resources' management and use. Concerning the performance audit reports, the respondents consider them objective, rigorous, credible, and the collaboration and communication of the auditors with the entity are appreciated as successful elements of the performance audit missions. Contribution: The paper adds value to the specialized literature, given that the performance audit issue in the vision of the public sector management has not been addressed in Romania, being also limited internationally. The research results are also of interest to both the professional and the socio-economic environment, concerned with the public sector entities performance.

Military politics have been entangled with the trajectory of Burundian public institutions, experiences of violence, and the army formation. From 1994 to 2009, the peace process brought together different political parties, security forces, and rebel groups to negotiate ceasefires and major institutional reforms. Adopted in 2000, the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement contained some of the most ambitious and sophisticated security reforms. While most literature emphasizes mostly on the Arusha Peace Agreement, 22 agreements were signed by different sets of parties, including political parties and rebel groups during these 15 years of peace meditation. The Arusha Peace Agreement provides for complex security arrangements: (a) a strictly defined role, structure, and mandate of the army and other security forces; (b) sophisticated power-sharing arrangements for both leadership and composition of the army and other security forces; (c) demobilization, disarmament, integration, and training of armed forces; (d) transformation of armed groups into political parties; and (e) ceasefires. The peace talks integrated various armed political groups into Burundian institutions. Responding to four decades of violence and military dictatorship, these reforms of the military and other security forces aimed to disentangle the military from politics. Initially contested, the agreements shaped the reading of the historical contexts that justified these institutional military reforms. Indeed, provisions of these agreements also framed a narrative about violence and imposed fixed interpretations of political mobilization of violence. These imposed interpretations neglected key elements that enabled and, continue to enable, the political use of violence as well as the emergence of new forms of military politics. The main institutional approach adopted to tackle issues of inclusion and to correct imbalances in armed forces was the introduction of power-sharing arrangements based on ethnic dimensions. The formulation and further implementation of ethnic quotas reinforced the binary elements of ethnic identities, rather than promote a more fluid understanding that would appreciate intersecting elements, such as gender, political affiliation, and class and regional dimensions in the undertaking of power, alliance, and relations between executive and military institutions. Security reforms continue to affect the functioning of public institutions, with limited effects for disentangling politics and military.

In China, public institutions are of intricate and complex relevance to government organs. It is an important part of government reform to carry out institutional change in separation of public service units from government. At present, excessive administration in public institutions leads to mixed forms of organization, rigid operation mechanism and ambiguous management styles, and so on. To carry out reform of public institutions, we should strengthen institutional innovation, break up stock by classification reform and introduce classification reform with a definite object to form a management system matching the organizational nature. The classification reform can be roughly divided into major classifications and sub-classifications. The major classification is to divide current public institutions into three types—namely administration, public welfare and management—in accordance with their social function. Then, public institutions of public welfare are divided into three subtypes further, namely Public Welfare Types I, II and III. Transformation from public institutions of management into enterprises should be conducted, where the government should provide necessary policy support for smooth transformation. In order to carry out de-administration smoothly, the classification reform of public institutions should be accelerated and the structure of corporate governance for public institutions should be established through reconstitution of organization.

In the report of 18 th Third Plenary Session of Central Committee of the Party, the proposal of joint council for public libraries, museums, cultural centers and science museums, etc., has been put forward. Based on the management and cooperation actuality of archives and libraries, this paper has analyzed the essence, characteristics and implementation approaches of the joint council management mode of archives and libraries, and has provided the reference for reform of public benefit institutions. Background for Establishing Joint Council of Archives and Libraries In the report of 18 th Third Plenary Session of Central Committee of the Party, it has pointed out: Explicit the function location of different cultural and public institutions; construct the corporate governance structure and perfect the performance evaluation mechanism. Promote the construction of joint council management for public libraries, museums, cultural centers and science museums, and attract relevant representatives, professionals and citizens participating in the management. It is an important measurement to improve the mechanism innovation and the must to deepen the reform of our cultural and public institutions. Municipal Party committee and government have issued the measurement: Seven Specific Reform Proposal for Innovation and Reform of Public Institution Mechanism (2007), therein the regulation: Suggestion on Construction and Perfection Implementation of Corporate Governance Structure of Public Institutions. The regulation has pointed out to implement mechanism of council among public institutions including libraries. The project of sharing national culture and information resources, launched by Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Finance in 2002, has integrated the cultural information resources of libraries, archives and museums and realized the share of cultural information among the nation. Additionally, many regional projects have promoted the integration and processing of cultural information resources to provide services to publics via Internet, through the cooperation with local libraries, archives and museums. With the increase of national economy and the fast accumulation of material wealth over the society, public requires higher level of cultural consumption. Archives and libraries, as the cultural institutions providing the cultural information resources to public, are required to provide the public with fruitful resources and the fast accesses to reach these resources. At this stage, the best approach for archives and libraries is to cooperate together deeply and broadly, so that they can have better integration on cultural resources and provide optimized services. However, the supervised department of archives is National Archive Bureau, while that of libraries is Ministry of Culture. The two departments are belonging to different administrations respectively and between the upper administrations, there is lack of scientific and rational cooperation mechanism. Even via the existing technical approach to share the resources, contribution of digital platform, the problems have been found for period, such as redundant resource construction and different functions of resources carriers. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a joint management organization of archives and libraries, which can project the development globally and manage archives and libraries holistically. It will promote the cooperation of archives and libraries, while make efficient use of personnel and expense to obtain more effective results. Under contemporary situation, it is the requirements to bring in council management of archives and libraries to cope with the public institution reform, to follow up the transform of government functions, and to establish and perfect the corporate governance

Access, equity, and quality in higher education are crucial pillars for fostering inclusive and sustainable development, particularly in the context of Telangana, a rapidly evolving state in India. This paper examines the emerging challenges faced by Telangana’s higher education system as it seeks to balance expansion with inclusivity and academic excellence. The state’s higher education sector has seen significant growth in terms of institutional expansion, student enrolment, and diversification of courses. However, challenges remain in terms of equitable access for marginalized communities, ensuring gender parity, and addressing the urban-rural divide in educational opportunities. Moreover, while efforts have been made to improve infrastructure and faculty quality, disparities persist between central and state universities in terms of resource allocation, curriculum relevance, and employability outcomes. The study also highlights the growing importance of digital learning in enhancing access but notes the digital divide as a barrier for many. By analyzing these factors, this paper identifies key policy interventions and institutional reforms necessary to address gaps in equity and quality, thus paving the way for a more inclusive and robust higher education ecosystem in Telangana. Article targeted financial aid for underrepresented groups, strengthening faculty training programs, and promoting collaboration between central and state universities to ensure a balanced and high-quality educational experience for all students.

The successful implementation of reforms in public institutions is crucial for a country’s progress. The achievement of these reforms always depends on various factors. One of the most important ones to be considered while evaluating the fulfillment of a reform is culture and mainly the political culture. Culture itself is a wide concept, yet, authors have tried to give several definitions to it. Nowadays, several authors are trying to connect the concept of culture to the nations’ “performance” in fields like economy, public sector etc. Reforms in the public institutions are mainly needed in those countries that experience transitional political regimes. Albania has changed its political regime since the early 90s, however the reforms on its public insitutions have been quite slow, even though some obvious progress has been made in the 30 years after the fall of communism. Therefore, this study aims to focus in the role of the political culture of the Albanian society in the performance of the public sector in this country. This study will analyze the concept of political culture by focusing in the characteristics of individual vs collevtist societies and the society’s attitude towards politics and governance, therefore the political culture concept will be used to explain the behavior of the Albanian society towards the “efficiency and effectiveness” of its public institutions.
 
 Received: 4 June 2021 / Accepted: 10 July 2021 / Published: 15 July 2021

Vocational Training and Apprenticeship Centres (VTACs) are public institutions using considerable public resources and contributing to economy development. The purpose of this paper is to measure and explain efficiency scores for a sample of Algerian VTACs that are located in Batna province. Based on data obtained from the Direction of Professional Training of Batna province, in the first stage, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to measure efficiency scores of 17 VTACs in the second stage, Tobit regression model was employed to explain the effect of environmental factors. The DEA results show that the efficiency scores, using CCR model, reveal that out of all the above 17 VTACs, only seven VTACs are efficient. The remaining ten VTACs are inefficient. The average efficiency is 0.776. The efficiency scores, based on ARI-CCR model, reveal that out of all the above 17 VTACs, only two VTACs are efficient. The average efficiency of all VTACs, in the case of ARI-CCR model, is 0.731. The results from the Tobit regression indicate that the efficiency scores are affected positively by experience and location, and negatively by private sector.

<p>O serviço de atendimento à comunidade de idosos na região metropolitana de Ceilândia tem sido pauta de discussões sociais sobre a precariedade e falta de recursos públicos para atender o quantitativo da região. Neste panorama, investigou-se a realidade das instituições de longa permanência, de natureza pública, privada e institutos religiosos, a fim de verificar as ações preventivas e paliativas do sistema de atendimento físico, psíquico, social e emocional. Observou- se que os idosos dos serviços de longa permanência em instituições públicas apresentaram sentimentos contraditórios de bem-estar e sofrimento psíquico, em detrimento do sentimento de solidão e abandono pela ausência familiar em seu cotidiano e precariedade dos serviços ofertados. Em contrapartida, os idosos de instituições privadas e religiosas verbalizam o sentimento de vazio ocasionado pela convivência diária dos familiares, contudo as atividades recreativas e sociais os mantém vivos e emocionalmente estável. Este trabalho é relevante para a comunidade idosa na compreensão dos gargalos sociais, no âmbito do direito legal do idoso, na garantia de direitos à moradia, alimentação e habitação. Objetivou-se apresentar um panorama da perspectiva prática das ações de acolhimento, recreação e repouso de idosos em situações de vulnerabilidade e risco social no contexto institucional, uma vez que o abandono familiar é uma das causas que afetam a saúde física e psicossocial, desencadeando doenças como ansiedade e depressão. Sob a ótica social, é fundamental a discussão das políticas públicas de assistência social, no que tange o serviço de atendimento à comunidade de idosos, tendo em vista que a população Brasileira está envelhecendo, e este tema tem sido negligenciado pelos órgãos responsáveis de saúde pública. Para a comunidade cientifica, o estudo é significativo como norteador de futuras pesquisas na área social. Trata-se de uma pesquisa descritiva e exploratória acerca do campo investigado.</p>

To respond to the climate crisis, we need to accelerate system transformations at a pace, scale, and breadth not seen before. This means that it is urgent to shift development pathways towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions, even while progressing towards other sustainable development objectives. This paper argues that accelerated mitigation can not only benefit from policies that are outside the domain of conventional emission-focused mitigation policies but require such policies. We refer to this process as shifting development pathways towards sustainability. Here, we explore what enabling conditions make such shifts possible. We develop a framework to select examples of shifts — in realms such as educational access, housing access, fiscal arrangements, and institutional reform. We analyse them against key enablers. Our findings suggest that countries could learn from what has worked elsewhere, though context matters. Some enablers are more widely applicable, including finance, long-term vision, and focus on sustainable development objectives. Multiple enablers, integrated policy packages, and involvement of a broad range of actors help achieve multiple objectives. Some enablers may yield results in the near term, while others take time to yield results. Based on our analysis, we suggest that climate mitigation requires an “all of economy, all of society” approach.Graphical

Background and Aim: Universities have evolved beyond their traditional roles of teaching and research to embrace a “third mission” centered on community engagement and social responsibility. In alignment with global frameworks such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), higher education institutions increasingly act as transformative agents in addressing social inequalities, advancing sustainability, and fostering community empowerment. This study aims to explore and synthesize innovative models of university-led community service globally. It seeks to identify effective strategies that foster sustainable development and societal impact, and to propose guiding principles for institutionalizing such models within diverse higher education contexts. Methodology: Employing a qualitative documentary research design, the study analyzes a range of secondary data sources, including peer-reviewed journal articles, institutional reports (e.g., from UNESCO and the Talloires Network), national higher education policies, and case studies from universities such as the University of Cape Town, Ateneo de Manila University, and Michigan State University. Data were thematically coded and organized using a comparative matrix focusing on engagement strategies, community impact, and sustainability mechanisms. Results: The analysis identified four primary models of innovative university engagement: community-based learning/service-learning integration, university social enterprise incubators, research-to-impact translation centers, and digital community service platforms. Across diverse regions, successful initiatives shared common strategic features, including the institutionalization of civic engagement, long-term stakeholder partnerships, multidisciplinary collaboration, and dedicated funding and evaluation systems. These initiatives produced demonstrable outcomes in educational access, economic empowerment, public health, and environmental sustainability. Conclusion: The study concludes that universities can serve as catalysts for sustainable development by embedding community engagement into their institutional missions and structures. However, to maximize impact and scalability, future research should empirically validate these models through longitudinal, cross-cultural, and participatory studies. Policy alignment and institutional reforms are also recommended to sustain university-community partnerships and amplify their societal contributions.

This paper delves into the multifaceted impact of rising tuition fees in Chinese universities, a phenomenon that has garnered significant attention in recent years. The escalation in tuition costs has raised concerns about its effects on educational accessibility, student debt, economic disparities, and the labor market. Through a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, empirical data, and specific case studies, this study explores how the increasing financial burden of higher education in China is reshaping opportunities and challenges for students and society at large. The results show how complicated the relationship is between tuition fees and other socioeconomic factors. The article suggests that even though higher education is still a key way to move up in society, the rising costs may make it harder for some people to get in. In the last part of the paper, it talks about some policy changes and institutional reforms that might help lessen the bad effects of rising tuition fees and make it easier for everyone to go to college in China. The study focuses on what these changes might mean for international students and how they might affect China's place in the world of higher education.