Emergency remote education and smart working at three European higher education institutions

Due to the threat posed by COVID-19, many colleges and universities around the world opted to switch to online courses and smart working to keep their students, professors, and staff safe during the pandemic emergency. Face-to-face classes, including labs and workshops, have been canceled and substituted with online activities. New administrative procedures have also been established to support the emergency remote education. This article analyzes these changes in light of the experiences of three higher education institutions in different countries, namely Latvia, Poland, and Italy. From this analysis, some aspects have emerged that have stimulated a deeper reflection on the use of digital technology in higher education. .

Teaching in a Global World: Challenges and Opportunities for Small-Sized Universities - Insights from Italy

Today’s academic institutions are strongly involved in the modern globalization process. The aim of the paper is to investigate if small-sized universities face particular challenges and if they obtain some advantages or are adversely affected by the ongoing process. The focus is on Europe and, specifically, on Italy, one of the signatory countries of the Bologna Declaration, that has implemented the European international reform process. Based on official data from the Italian Ministry of University and Research, first we analyse university characteristics and then we calculate performance selected indicators that are informative of a few key aspects, such as teaching quality and internationalisation and look at student satisfaction. Results show that teaching quality in small-sized public universities is similar to that in big-sized public ones whereas small-sized private universities perform better than big-sized private ones. Attractiveness for students abroad is greater for smaller and more specialized universities, and this is especially evident for private universities. Satisfaction as well is higher for students studying in small-sized universities. However, doubts exist for the future due to the possible negative effects of the very complex and strict administrative procedures of the current organization and evaluation system. Keywords: universities, small-sized, teaching, performance, Europe, Italy

Welfare Mediators as Game Changers? Deconstructing Power Asymmetries Between EU Migrants and Welfare Administrators

Under EU law, EU citizens constitute a particular group of immigrants, as they can, mostly without restrictions, move to, and reside in, another EU country, enjoying equal treatment with nationals in terms of accessing employment and social rights. However, as this article demonstrates, the settlement of EU citizens in another member state does not happen without hurdles. Through a careful in‐depth study of access to transnational welfare rights in practice, we analyse knowledge and resulting power asymmetries impacting interactions between certain EU migrant claimants and street‐level bureaucrats in Austrian and German social administrations. Following an inductive approach, based on an extensive data set of 144 qualitative interviews, this article first unpacks the different types of knowledge asymmetries relating to administrative procedures, formal social entitlements and the German language. We then analyse how such knowledge asymmetries may open space for welfare mediation in order to compensate for a lack of German language skills and to clarify misunderstandings about legal entitlements and obligations embedded in the claims system. Finally, our contribution offers a typology of welfare mediators and their characteristics, as not all types can be regarded as equally effective in reshaping power asymmetries. Overall, this article allows for insights into how welfare mediators, as more or less institutionalised opportunity structures, can shift policy outcomes in unexpected ways, enabling access to social benefits and services for otherwise excluded EU migrant citizens working, or seeking to work, in another EU member state.

Toolbox of the Public Administration Entity. Intersection of the Principle of Legality and Administrative Discretion in Exercising the Revocation of an Administrative Decision

For some, revocation of an administrative decision arises doubts, for others, it is a legal measure ensuring that public administration entities are able to respond to changing circumstances and adopt not only legitimate, but also fair decisions by striking a balance between private and public interests. This paper aims to analyse the choice of Lithuania with respect to the implementation and application of the public administration entities right to revoke its previously adopted administrative decision. In order to achieve this goal, the results of analysis of the role of the principle of legality and administrative discretion in the decision-making process, legal regulation of public administration and case-law are revealed. The analysis will show that there is room for the possible systematisation of the administrative procedures, aiming to ensure that public administration entities are able to respond to the ongoing changes in order to fulfil the objectivities based on which the particular public administration entities were established.

Governmentality, the Local State, and the Commons: An Analysis of Civic Management Facilities in Barcelona

This article deploys the Foucauldian concept of governmentality to study the political tensions that may unfold when commons are enacted through hybrid institutional configurations. We focus on civic management facilities (CMFs) that are located in the city of Barcelona. These are facilities owned by Barcelona City Council which, responding to organised citizens’ demands, are transferred to them so that they can develop their own transformative projects for the community. The hybrid institutional nature of these CMFs makes it impossible for them to avoid maintaining a relationship with the local state. Based on a survey to 51 CMFs, semi‐structured interviews with 41 grassroots members of CMFs and seven semi‐structured interviews with public employees and politicians, we argue that hybrid forms of commons lead to the development of political tensions. On the one hand, we show how the local state’s administrative procedures—to do with accountability and the use of public space—reshape the activities of the CMFs, leading to the depoliticisation of their transformative projects. On the other hand, the analysis also presents the strategies of resistance articulated by the facilities, which enable members to work towards the development of their transformative aims. We conclude that such political tensions cannot be resolved but must be properly governed in order to make the commons’ transformative project an enduring one.

Evaluation of “Kampus Mengajar”: an effort to increase participation at the University of Merdeka Malang

“Kampus Mengajar” aimed to assist the process of teaching and learning at the elementary-junior high school level through technology adaptation, teaching numeracy and literacy, and administrative procedures. The deployment of students during the COVID-19 pandemic, which required learning to be conducted online, will significantly help the school, especially related to technology adaptation. However, this program was less attractive to students and lecturers at the University of Merdeka Malang; this was evident from the relatively small participation of students and lecturers at batch 1. In the initial observation, the “Kampus Mengajar” was less attractive because it did not follow the existing scientific competencies at the University of Merdeka Malang; thus, it was difficult to conduct a credit conversion process. This low participation affects the IKU ranking, where the University of Malang is in cluster 3 with 75.21. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of the “Kampus Mengajar” as an effort to increase the participation of the University of Merdeka Malang academic community. This research was conducted using an exploratory survey research method. Data were obtained through questionnaires and FGDs. The results showed that the implementation of the Kampus Mengajar at the University of Merdeka Malang had been running through socialization at the central level to the study programs. There was an increase in participation in each batch, both lecturers and students.

Role of Home-Modification Training for Care Managers

With the aging of society, the long-term care insurance system -which includes home modifications to continue living at home- was established in 2000. However, the quality of home modifications has been persistent issue, and effective training is expected to conclusively solve this problem. To this end, the purpose of this study is to clarify the rational for training care managers who plan home modifications. A survey comprising two sets of questionnaires was conducted; one set encompassed is all 62municipalities in Tokyo, whereas the other involved care manager who participated in training program. The results of the first questionnaire showed that, out of 62 municipalities, 9 (14.5%) provided training on home modification, of which 8 (88.9%) provided training on administrative procedures. In one municipality that provided training on practical aspects of home modification, we provide questionnaires to 59 care managers participating in the training. -Lectures on administrative procedures, physical conditions of invalids, and reading drawings were conducted by administrative staff, occupational therapists, and architects, respectively. Afterwards, the participants attended a planning workshop. According to the questionnaire conducted after the workshop, 80.4% of the participants could understand home modifications in the system, 85.5% understood how to modify homes based on the occupants’ symptoms and physical conditions, 81.6% could interpret drawings, 90.2% could plan modifications, and 81.6% found the training useful. These findings indicate that the training of care managers has indeed been effective in actual practice. Improving the quality of home modifications through multidisciplinary cooperation is significant in maintaining home life.

Development of Telemedicine in Russia: A Consumer View

Introduction: One of the most significant trends in the global and Russian healthcare system is its digitalization. The COVID-19 pandemic has only given more importance and accelerated this process. The worldwide demand for telemedicine services has grown considerably. Yet, among Russian citizens e-health is not very popular. Besides, the use of telehealth gives rise to controversial issues as to the boundaries of its application. Objective: To analyze the attitude of various socio-demographic groups of Russian people to telemedicine and perspectives on its use. Methods: The article is based on the results of a sociological study aimed to establish the attitude of citizens to telemedicine. In order to obtain empirical information, an all-Russian sociological survey of the population representing various socio-demographic groups was carried out in April 2021. The survey method was a formalized personal interview at the place of residence of the respondents. Results: The study showed that few respondents had ever made use of telemedicine opportunities so far. At the same time, the low level of e-health use was accompanied by a very restrained attitude of the respondents to practicing it in the future. Conclusion: According to the data obtained, having a higher level of education allows citizens to integrate much more easily into innovative projects, including those in the digital space. Personal experience of using digital (e-health) technologies determines a more loyal attitude and greater interest of consumers to its potential use. The attractiveness of telemedicine opportunities is mostly attributed to complicated formal administrative procedures of obtaining medical certificates, referrals, and sick leaves offline. However, Russians are still wary of the possibilities of having the first consultation or monitoring their well-being and condition during the online treatment process. The majority of the respondents did not accept the diagnosis and the choice of treatment by means of telecommunications

CONCIALIATION AS AN ALTERNATIVE MECHANISM ‎FOR SETTLING ADMINISTRATIVE DISPUTES ‎

The administration issues unilateral administrative decisions, which makes it the strong party, ‎ensuring its independence from the administrative judiciary by not interfering in its affairs as ‎it is a public authority‏.‏ Perhaps the best thing that the legislator did was when he approved, alongside the ‎administrative judiciary sector, alternative mechanisms for resolving the dispute amicably in ‎the Civil and Administrative Procedures Law, since the administrative judiciary costs them ‎many and costly difficulties, especially the long and complex procedures, and the difficulty of ‎implementing administrative rulings and judicial decisions.‎ These mechanisms for settling administrative disputes are to solve problems amicably between ‎litigants: conciliation, mediation and arbitration.‎ We will discuss the conciliation mechanism, treating it from the angle of the legal position of ‎the administrative judge as an original party‎