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Reports an investigation into what way the interaction between managers and their subordinates is linked to the latter group’s performance and innovativeness. With pressure to change and innovate being steadily increased by reduced subsidies, dwindling resources, growing customer demands for quality service and technological change, examines the ability of this type of informational facility to function. Focuses on the actors and their attitudes, social behaviour on the job, and perceptions. Identifies communication, participation, autonomy, conflict, motivation and co‐operation in the theoretical part of the study as being the basic constituents of social dynamics in research libraries. Theoretically and empirically, the work climate served as the appropriate indicator of the socioemotional quality of interaction and was the link between managers’ behaviour, social interaction and achievement of the organisation’s purpose. Concludes that it is essential for managerial competence to be grasped as being a blend of technical, managerial and social expertise.

Innovation policy and innovation systems undoubtedly play a crucial role in shaping the path of economic development of contemporary economies. A particularly interesting context for studying the evolution of this area is offered by post-transition economies which had to undergo fundamental structural changes and face the global competition where the advances in knowledge and technological progress ultimately decide between success or failure.

The chapter aims to portray and evaluate the key developments in the innovation policy and national innovation system of Poland – one of the largest and most successful post-transition economies.

The methodological framework of the study involves a descriptive analysis of the major changes in the regulatory and institutional settings as well as an analysis of statistical data on the crucial dimensions of Poland's innovation policy and innovation system over the period 2000–2021. Additionally, the overall effects of the policy have been assessed using the data from the European Innovation Scoreboard (over 2015–2022) and the Global Innovation Index (over 2008–2022).

The findings suggest that the significant changes in Poland's innovation policy and innovation system frameworks introduced since the mid-2000s have resulted in a dynamic increase in the intensity of R&D efforts, especially in the business enterprise sector, allowing to narrow the structural gaps dividing the country from more advanced economies and markedly improve its overall research and innovative performance. A key role in this process has been played by the direct and indirect government support for innovative activities.

An underappreciated aspect of F. A. Hayek’s mature views about rationality is the inter-relation of the “pure logic of choice” and rule-following behavior. Sometimes it is asserted that Hayek abandoned his earlier understanding of individual rationality and replaced it with a completely rule-oriented conception of decisionmaking. In fact, however, the analysis in Hayek’s Sensory Order gives us the framework in which the relative roles of explicit choice-logic and rule-following can be discerned. Furthermore, this framework also shows that his fundamental conception of individual rationality is pragmatic, contextual, modifiable, and ecological. While standard neoclassical economists were axiomatizing the explicit logic of choice, Hayek was decades ahead of these economists in understanding the nature of decisionmaking outside of completely artificial worlds in which there are no cognitive limits and in which the structure of the environment is simple. This paper attempts to lay the foundation for an integrated understanding of Hayek’s pragmatic rule-following rationality and the “ecological rationality” of Gerd Gigerenzer and other researchers.

While the role of the National Innovation System (NIS) in promoting economic growth is well recognized, there remains a significant knowledge gap concerning how interactions among actors and learning processes within these systems facilitate innovation commercialization in Uganda. This gap hinders the effective design and implementation of policies aimed at boosting innovation-driven development in emerging economies. This study aims to explore the linkages and interrelationships among NIS actors in Uganda.

This study used systematic document reviews and case-study techniques. A systematic review based on the SPAR-4-SLR protocol evaluated the literature on Uganda’s NIS, including policy and strategy documents, development frameworks, journal articles and working papers. This dual approach allowed for an in-depth analysis of policy documents and empirical examples, revealing complex mechanisms within Uganda’s NIS. A content analysis tool facilitated the reduction of qualitative data through codification, theme development and the reporting of results.

This study explored the relationships among NIS actors, offering insights into using Uganda’s unique institutional and economic landscape for sustainable growth. It identifies key drivers, such as improved collaboration between the government, industry and academia and strategic policy measures in technology transfer and innovation funding, which are essential for revitalizing Uganda’s innovation ecosystem.

This study presents a preliminary analysis of Uganda’s NIS. Future studies should adopt a longitudinal approach to examine the evolution of NIS over time, including the impact of global technological advancements and policy changes on Uganda’s innovation ecosystem. To elucidate the complex interrelationships within an NIS, subsequent research could employ network analysis or systems thinking methodology. These approaches would facilitate a more nuanced understanding of the interconnections and reciprocal influences among various NIS stakeholders.

The inclusion of the innovation, technology development and transfer (ITDT) program in National Development Plan III demonstrates that National Innovation System (NIS) incorporation into the country’s development process is possible through a combination of policy/regulatory, market/economic and technical/technological factors.

This study significantly advances the understanding of innovation systems by detailing the intricate network of relationships within Uganda’s NIS. This highlights the unexplored dimensions of learning and cooperation and offers a thorough analysis of the factors that enable innovation, which are crucial for promoting innovation in a developing country.

On a world basis, 15% of the population has a disability. Having a disability can result in a higher frequency of health-related information needs than other users might experience. The Web represents a widely used source for health information. People with disabilities, however, often encounter barriers during online searching, such as inaccessible information, poorly designed search user interfaces and lack of compatibility with assistive technology. Consequently, many users are potentially excluded from a range of information sources. Measures are therefore needed to remove these barriers to avoid health disparities that can result from unequal access to information. Public libraries have a social responsibility to include all user groups, and should aspire to make fully accessible services. A good tool in this context is the implementation of the universal design mind-set, where the purpose is to develop services that are available to all people. This chapter discusses how universal design can be a premise for equal access to health information and potentially reduce health disparities in the context of users with disabilities. Both library services and education of librarians will be addressed.