Emotions and teaching are inextricably interwoven, especially in language education. To date, mainly the emotions of students and teachers have dominated research. Fewer studies have looked at the emotions of language teacher educators. Using narrative inquiry, this study investigates the emotional lives of two transnational language teacher educators. The participants reflect on their emotions and experiences in three distinct contexts (Canada, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates). Findings revealed a range of entangled emotions relating to power dynamics, cultural and linguistic issues, transnational identities, neoliberal pressures and accountability, and divisions between feeling rules and actual emotions, resulting in emotion labor. Named emotions connected to such themes included confidence, accomplishment, pride, joy, discomfort, guilt, frustration, and emotional burnout together with (lack of) support and appreciation. Based on the findings, suggestions are made for ways to bring greater awareness to the nuances and complexities within teacher educator emotional lives with the aim of opening up discourses related to emotions, wellness, and work environments.

In this introductory chapter, we explain the application of the capability approach (CA) to the work domain. Sen, the founder of the CA, argues that justice and well-being can best be expressed in terms of capabilities. Capabilities are the possibilities or freedoms people have to realise ‘doings and beings they have reason to value’. Our view in this book is that if workers can realise this in their work, then people can be who they want to do the things that add value for themselves and their working environment. This contributes to well-being and flourishing at work. Sen’s starting point from practical situations fits well with work where improvements also occur from the actual context of that work. Concepts such as diversity, contextuality, and inclusivity, which are important aspects of the CA, are also crucial for work where everyone can flourish. The theories and conceptions that are relevant to the foundation and positioning of the approach are briefly discussed. The chapter starts with an anecdote from Sir Christopher Wren, which serves as a metaphor for the topics discussed in the chapter and the book as a whole. The chapter ends with a brief overview of the book.

In this chapter, religion’s role in conflict and violence is examined, covering the decades from c. 1603 until shortly before the outbreak of rebellion in October 1641. The chapter traces how it was increasingly religious flashpoints – sacred objects, churches and churchyards, and rituals such as the Mass among others – that generated tension, unrest and even violence in seventeenth-century Ireland. As Protestant settlers sought to implement the work of ‘converting and civilising’, Irish Catholics pushed back against what they viewed as heretical incursions. They reveal battles over ideas of possession, heritage, power and the nature of the sacred itself, and how religious symbols and language were growing ever more important in how Irish and British, Catholic and Protestant viewed and lived alongside one another. Intra-confessional conflict is also addressed, through examining the eruption of violence by Scottish settlers against the Church of Ireland in the wake of the National Covenant and ensuing unrest in Scotland. It indicates religion’s potent ability to motivate and mobilise resistance, even unto violence, as crisis Unfolded across the Three Kingdoms.

This chapter uses the concepts developed in the first chapter to discuss the characteristics of sine waves in transmission lines. A fourth key parameter, the phase constant is shown to be linked to both frequency and velocity. This is used to describe reflections from impedances, standing waves and the input impedance of a length of line. The various examples that follow include the Smith Chart. Next, the transmission coefficient is introduced to describe how waves can go beyond an impedance inserted into a line. This leads onto Scattering Parameters with various examples of their use in measurements. The chapter ends with an analysis of how a sinewave, which has just been switched on, reflects from impedances. Following examples on this topic, there is a discussion about the limits of modulation.

Capability is the informational focus of the theory of justice developed by Sen. This means that, according to this theory, people’s relative advantages and disadvantages should be assessed in terms of their capability. I present and discuss some of the investigational requirements that this entails. A key challenge here is that a capability relates not only to what people actually end up being and doing that is of value to them (achieved functionings) but also to what they are in fact able to do, irrespective of whether they choose to realise such an opportunity. This seems to produce a paradox in Sen’s writings – capability assessment being quite complex on the one hand but surprisingly simple on the other. Drawing on what Sen has to say on the relationship between capability and human rights, I offer a possible explanation for the apparent paradox. Two case studies are given, showing some methods that may be used to assess capability and how the validity and relevance of the resulting evidence can be assessed. I conclude by suggesting that Sen’s capability approach can be considered a realist and non-ideal theory of justice and that specific approaches to capability assessment should be in line with this.

In this chapter, the construct of “school renewal” was proposed and tested. First, seven dimensions of the instrument “Orientation to School Renewal” were introduced: (a) focus on students and their achievement; (b) continuous school improvement; (c) balance between the internal and external influences; (d) the dialogue, decision, action, and evaluation process; (e) implementation integrity; (f) implementers as active developers; and (g) internal responsibility and professionalism. Second, psychometric properties were tested. The instrument Orientation to School Renewal had a high level of factorial validity: the seven-dimension factorial structure was valid. Orientation to School Renewal also had a high level of reliability. Furthermore, ratings on the instrument predicted not only the current year’s school-level student achievement level but also the growth in student achievement from the prior to the current year. School renewal is a sound construct to capture an improvement process that is different from the traditional school reform model.

This chapter addresses the treaty-making processes of some important biological diversity-related treaties whose existence can be traced back to the 1972 Stockholm Convention – in particular, treaties relating to access and benefit sharing from genetic materials related to biosafety. The chapter assesses the extent to which, in the negotiating processes relating to those treaties, the aspirations of developing countries have been adequately catered to. In particular, it suggests that, while in many instances the negotiations were commenced on the basis of the aspirations of developing countries, the final products often deferred these demands to future processes.

In the European Union, social media is more than a communication tool, it is a space where insider recognition, symbolic exchange and political identity unfold. This chapter examines how EU officials, diplomats and journalists within the ‘Brussels Bubble’ use platforms like Twitter and Instagram to balance public messaging with private ritual. Through figures such as Peter, press officer for European Council President Donald Tusk, and Emma, a civil servant managing multiple digital identities, the chapter reveals social media’s role as a ‘gift of recognition’, reinforcing professional ties and signaling belonging in a closed community.

Central themes include the strategic timing and content of summit posts, the contrast between routine recognition tweets (e.g. handshake photos) and high-profile missteps (like Tusk’s ‘piece of cake’ tweet to Theresa May) and the use of social media for ‘face-work’ (Goffman) and gift exchange (Mauss). The ‘Bubble effect’ – where insiders primarily engage with each other – is evident in Brexit-related Twitter data, amplifying shared values while sidelining external voices.

Satirical accounts (@Berlaymonster, DG MEME) and self-deprecating posts humanise EU institutions, yet reinforce insider culture. These digital rituals, though often mundane, are foundational, shaping reputations and the collective identity of European integration.