Search results for: political engagement

Authors: Sara Melkonyan

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Over the past decades, the political (and partly legal) doctrine of remedial secession has emerged on the basis of the development of internationally recognized human rights and rights of peoples stemming from various multilateral treaties, which stipulates that aggrieved and persecuted nations have the right to secede from the parent state as a remedy for their continuous and unstoppable grievances. The 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh and the following events posed severe challenges for Nagorno-Karabakh and its people. Constant aggression and threat, the humanitarian crisis caused by the closure of the Lachin Corridor, the persistent threat of ethnic cleansing of Artsakhi Armenians, and the state policy that has been executed towards Artsakhi people by the Azerbaijani authorities come to prove that the Artsakhi people cannot survive under Azerbaijani control and secession may be the last resort for ending oppression. The paper tries to make parallels with similar cases and discuss the doctrine of remedial secession applied selectively among different cases. This paper aims to figure out why in some cases the secessionist movements succeeded to gain independence based on the doctrine of remedial secession, in other cases, they refused to gain recognition from the international community. Through analyzing the domestic-level and then international-level factors, the study concluded that the doctrine of remedial secession is inherently in the political realm and almost impossible to draw substantial “recipes” for warranting secession, and the latter is not applied similarly among the cases, so its success mainly depends on the geopolitical interests of the great powers involved.

Keywords: R2P, remedial secession, self-determination, conflicts

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Authors: Aisha Alshdefat, Lina Shakman

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Objective: With environmental sustainability (ES) emerging as a critical concern due to its global impact, higher education institutions play a vital role in promoting ES through curricula and campus operations. This study examines the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors related to ES among students at Sultan Qaboos University, aiming to identify areas for improved integration of sustainability practices in higher education. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted via an online questionnaire, examines perceptions and attitudes toward environmental sustainability among students at Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. The survey instrument employs a 5-point Likert scale to assess six key areas: awareness, concern, attitude, willingness to participate, current behaviors, and recommendations for enhancing campus sustainability initiatives. A convenience sample of 200 students was initially targeted, with 157 students ultimately responding between September and November 2024. Eligible participants included Undergraduate and graduate students who consented after being fully informed of the study objectives and design were included, while those who withdrew or refused participation were excluded. Following ethical approval, data collection was carried out through Google Forms. SPSS Version 23 was used for descriptive and inferential analyses, including Pearson’s correlation, chi-square, and Fisher's exact test, to explore associations among key variables. Findings: Preliminary analysis indicates that 68% of participants are familiar with core environmental sustainability (ES) concepts, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and express high concern regarding environmental issues. However, only 47% report active involvement in campus-led ES initiatives, underscoring an engagement gap. Over 70% of respondents believe that sustainability should be prioritized as a university policy, and 62% expressed willingness to participate in additional ES-related programs. Despite this interest, 58% advocated for more sustainability-focused courses in their curriculum, suggesting current offerings are insufficient. Statistical analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between ES awareness and willingness to engage in sustainable practices (p < 0.05). These findings highlight the need for expanded institutional efforts, including targeted programs and curriculum integration, to cultivate a more sustainability-centered culture among students. Conclusion: The results emphasize that while students demonstrate a strong foundational awareness of ES, greater institutional support is essential to transform this awareness into active engagement. More comprehensive integration of sustainability within academic programs and campus life could substantially enhance students’ involvement and commitment to environmental stewardship.

Keywords: environmental sustainability, higher education, students, perceptions, Sultan Qaboos University.

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Authors: Haotian Wu

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This article examines the figure Zhao Tao in Jia Zhangke’s films in light of Carl Jung’s psychoanalytical theory. Zhao is a recurring aesthetic trope in Jia’s films, and the characters she plays often have an intimate relationship with the past. Nevertheless, this relationship has not been systematically investigated, especially its symbolism of the typical relationship between the past and the self in post-social China. To fill this research gap, the article will explore how Zhao’s characters discover, preserve, and adapt the past in I Wish I knew (2010), Mountains May Depart (2015), and Ash Is Purest White (2018). Through a Jungian lens, these three levels of engagement with the past will be demonstrated as corresponding with Jung’s psychoanalytical theory of self-realisation, which entails the confrontation with the shadow, the embodiment of the archetype, and individuation. Thus, by articulating a film-philosophy dialogue between Jia and Jung, this article will develop a new philosophy of self-realisation based on the symbolism of Zhao. Through the reintegration of the past, the individuals can overcome the fragmentation of temporality and selfhood in the postmodern world and achieve self-realisation.

Keywords: Jia Zhangke, Jung, psychoanalysis, self-realisation

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Authors: William Luke Hamel

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Existing conceptions of urban flooding caused by tidal fluctuations and sea-level rise have been inadequately conceptualized by metrics of resilience and methods of flow modeling. While a great deal of research has been devoted to the effects of urbanization on pluvial flooding, the kind of tidal flooding experienced by locations like Hampton Roads, Virginia, has not been adequately conceptualized as being a result of human factors such as urbanization and gray infrastructure. Resilience from sea level rise and its associated flooding has been pioneered in the region with the 2015 Norfolk Resilience Plan from 100 Resilient Cities as well as the 2016 Norfolk Vision 2100 plan, which envisions different patterns of land use for the city. Urban resilience still conceptualizes the city as having the ability to maintain an equilibrium in the face of disruptions. This economic and social equilibrium relies on the Elizabeth River, narrowly conceptualized. Intentionally or accidentally, the river was made to be a piece of infrastructure. Its development was meant to serve the docks, shipyards, naval yards, and port infrastructure that gives the region so much of its economic life. Inasmuch as it functions to permit the movement of cargo; the raising and lowering of ships to be repaired, commissioned, or decommissioned; or the provisioning of military vessels, the river as infrastructure is functioning properly. The idea that the infrastructure is malfunctioning when high tides and sea-level rise create flooding is predicated on the idea that the infrastructure is truly a human creation and can be controlled. The natural flooding cycles of an urban river, combined with the action of climate change and sea-level rise, are only abnormal so much as they encroach on the development that first encroached on the river. The urban political ecology of water provides the ability to view the river as an infrastructural extension of urban networks while also calling for its emancipation from stationarity and human control. Understanding the river and city as a hydrosocial territory or as a socio-natural system liberates both actors from the duality of the natural and the social while repositioning river flooding as a normal part of coexistence on a floodplain. This paper argues for the adoption of an urban political ecology lens in the analysis and governance of urban rivers like the Elizabeth River as a departure from the equilibrium-seeking and stability metrics of urban resilience.

Keywords: urban flooding, political ecology, Elizabeth river, Hampton roads

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Authors: Aneri Mehta, Neeti Chaudhary

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Governments of the countries around the world have started utilizing the potential of technology to deliver online information and services to their citizens. Using ICT in the form of e-governance could yield great benefits in the reform and modernization of the public sector. The experience of e-governance in a number of developed and developing countries has shown that ICT can be a tool for greater service delivery with the goal of improving service quality. E-governance can also promote ‘good governance’, greater civic engagement can increase opportunities for direct representation and voice, and support for increased democracy. This paper discusses and presents the survey findings that seek to test the role of e-governance in improving service delivery by altering the principal-agent relationship. It further seeks to elucidate the quality aspects of public service. Strong leadership is required to implement e-governance to capture and internalize the benefits of quality services and satisfied citizens.

Keywords: public service, service delivery, e-governance, good governance

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Authors: Taye O. Famuditi, Jonathan Potts, Malcolm Bray

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This paper examines the shoreline management planning policy in England and its suitability for ameliorating the diverse environmental problems associated with Nigeria’s coastal zones. It examines the success of SMPs in England since the mid-1990s and progress achieved, with the aim of understudying the current management approach that can be transferred to Nigeria to strengthen its adoption, and as a necessary corollary, implementation of the SMPs. This paper also examines key elements of the shoreline management frameworks in England and provides answers to the question: Would shoreline management planning approach in England be appropriate and feasible in Nigeria? It further concludes that many of the action plans and principles of participation should be adoptable provided that a participatory approach that involves all stakeholders including community members and relevant sectorial ministries as well as appropriate legal framework is encouraged.

Keywords: shoreline management plans, coastal zone management, stakeholder engagement, participatory approach, Nigeria

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Authors: Ahmed Tahsin Shams

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The right to dissent through any form of art has been facing challenges through various strict legal measures, particularly since 2018 when the Government of Bangladesh passed the Digital Security Act 2018 (DSA). Therefore, the references to ‘popular’ culture mostly include mainstream religious and national festivals and exclude critical intellectual representation of specific political allusions in any form of storytelling: whether wall art or fiction writing, since the post-DSA period in Bangladesh. Through inductive quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches, this paper aims to study the pattern of censorship, detention or custodial tortures against artists and the banning approach by the Bangladeshi government in the last five years, specifically against static visual arts, i.e., cartoon and wall art. The pattern drawn from these data attempts to redefine the popular notion of ‘pop culture’ as an unorganized folk or mass culture. The results also hypothesize how the post-DSA period forcefully constructs ‘pop culture’ as a very organized repetitive deception of enlightenment or entertainment. Thus the argument theorizes that this censoring trend is a fascist approach making the artists subaltern. So, in this socio-political context, these two similar and overlapping elements: culture and art, are vastly separated in two streams: the former being appreciated by the power, and the latter is a fearful concern for the power. Therefore, the purpose of art also shifts from entertainment to an act of rebellion, adding more layers to the new postmodern definition of ‘pop culture.’

Keywords: popular culture, visual arts, censoring trend, fascist approach, subaltern, digital security act

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Authors: Mahsa Mohammadhosseini

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This study investigates the effectiveness of adapting the Reggio Emilia approach to online art education, specifically through White Ant Atelier (W.A.A), a virtual art initiative for Persian-speaking children. Employing an action research framework, the study examines the implementation of Reggio Emilia principles via the "Home" art project, which spanned four months and included 16 sessions. The analysis covers 50 artworks produced by participants, including 17 pieces created collaboratively by mothers and their children. The results demonstrate that integrating the Reggio Emilia approach into online platforms significantly improves children's creative expression and engagement. This finding illustrates that virtual education when integrated with child-centered methodologies like Reggio Emilia, can effectively address and reduce educational inequities among Persian-speaking children.

Keywords: Reggio Emilia, online education, art education, educational equity

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Authors: M. S. Riyazulla

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Since the dawn of the 21st century, there has been a perceptible decline in Islamic supremacy in world affairs, apart from the gradual waning of the amiable relations and relevance of Islamic countries in the International political arena. For a long, Islamic countries have been marginalised by the superpowers in the global conflicting issues. This was evident in the context of their recent invasions and interference in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and Libya. The leading International Islamic organizations like the Arab League, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Gulf Cooperation Council, and Muslim World League did not play any prominent role there in resolving the crisis that ensued due to the exogenous and endogenous causes. Hence, there is a need for Islamic countries to create a credible International Islamic organization that could dictate its terms and shape a new Islamic world order. The prominent Islamic countries are divided on ideological and religious fault lines. Their concord is indispensable to enhance their image and placate the relations with other countries and communities. The massive boon of oil and gas could be synergistically utilised to exhibit their omnipotence and eminence through constructive ways. The prevailing menace of Islamophobia could be abated through syncretic messages, discussions, and deliberations by the sagacious Islamic scholars with the other community leaders. Presently, as Muslims are at a crossroads, a dynamic leadership could navigate the agitated Muslim community on the constructive path and herald political stability around the world. The present political disorder, chaos, and economic challenges necessities a paradigm shift in approach to worldly affairs. This could also be accomplished through the advancement in science and technology, particularly space exploration, for peaceful purposes. The Islamic world, in order to regain its lost preeminence, should rise to the occasion in promoting peace and tranquility in the world and should evolve a rational and human-centric solution to global disputes and concerns. As a splendid contribution to humanity and for amicable international relations, they should devote all their resources and scientific intellect towards space exploration and should safely transport man from the Earth to the nearest and most accessible cosmic body, the Moon, within one hundred years as the mankind is facing the existential threat on the planet.

Keywords: carboniferous period, Earth, extinction, fossil fuels, global leaders, Islamic glory, international order, life, marginalization, Moon, natural catastrophes

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Authors: Balimu Mwiya, Mundia Muya, Chabota Kaliba, Peter Mukalula

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Factors affecting construction unit cost vary depending on a country’s political, economic, social and technological inclinations. Factors affecting construction costs have been studied from various perspectives. Analysis of cost factors requires an appreciation of a country’s practices. Identified cost factors provide an indication of a country’s construction economic strata. The purpose of this paper is to identify the essential factors that affect unit cost estimation and their breakdown using artificial neural networks. Twenty-five (25) identified cost factors in road construction were subjected to a questionnaire survey and employing SPSS factor analysis the factors were reduced to eight. The 8 factors were analysed using the neural network (NN) to determine the proportionate breakdown of the cost factors in a given construction unit rate. NN predicted that political environment accounted 44% of the unit rate followed by contractor capacity at 22% and financial delays, project feasibility, overhead and profit each at 11%. Project location, material availability and corruption perception index had minimal impact on the unit cost from the training data provided. Quantified cost factors can be incorporated in unit cost estimation models (UCEM) to produce more accurate estimates. This can create improvements in the cost estimation of infrastructure projects and establish a benchmark standard to assist the process of alignment of work practises and training of new staff, permitting the on-going development of best practises in cost estimation to become more effective.

Keywords: construction cost factors, neural networks, roadworks, Zambian construction industry

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Authors: Helen Potkin

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This paper presents a practice-based case study of a project in which the student group designed and planned the curriculum content, classroom activities and assessment briefs in collaboration with the tutor. It focuses on the co-creation of the curriculum within a history and theory module, Researching the Contemporary, which runs for BA (Hons) Fine Art and Art History and for BA (Hons) Art Design History Practice at Kingston University, London. The paper analyses the potential of collaborative approaches to engender students’ investment in their own learning and to encourage reflective and self-conscious understandings of themselves as learners. It also addresses some of the challenges of working in this way, attending to the risks involved and feelings of uncertainty produced in experimental, fluid and open situations of learning. Alongside this, it acknowledges the tensions inherent in adopting such practices within the framework of the institution and within the wider of context of the commodification of higher education in the United Kingdom. The concept underpinning the initiative was to test out co-creation as a creative process and to explore the possibilities of altering the traditional hierarchical relationship between teacher and student in a more active, participatory environment. In other words, the project asked about: what kind of learning could be imagined if we were all in it together? It considered co-creation as producing different ways of being, or becoming, as learners, involving us reconfiguring multiple relationships: to learning, to each other, to research, to the institution and to our emotions. The project provided the opportunity for students to bring their own research and wider interests into the classroom, take ownership of sessions, collaborate with each other and to define the criteria against which they would be assessed. Drawing on students’ reflections on their experience of co-creation alongside theoretical considerations engaging with the processual nature of learning, concepts of equality and the generative qualities of the interrelationships in the classroom, the paper suggests that the dynamic nature of collaborative and participatory modes of engagement have the potential to foster relevant and significant learning experiences. The findings as a result of the project could be quantified in terms of the high level of student engagement in the project, specifically investment in the assessment, alongside the ambition and high quality of the student work produced. However, reflection on the outcomes of the experiment prompts a further set of questions about the nature of positionality in connection to learning, the ways our identities as learners are formed in and through our relationships in the classroom and the potential and productive nature of creative practice in education. Overall, the paper interrogates questions of what it means to work with students to invent and assemble the curriculum and it assesses the benefits and challenges of co-creation. Underpinning it is the argument that, particularly in the current climate of higher education, it is increasingly important to ask what it means to teach and to envisage what kinds of learning can be possible.

Keywords: co-creation, collaboration, learning, participation, risk

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Authors: Meaghan Bowman

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Microblogging has become increasingly popular for commenting on current events, spreading gossip, and encouraging individualism--which favors its low-context communication channel. These social media (SM) platforms allow users to express opinions while interacting with a wide range of populations. Hashtags allow immediate identification of like-minded individuals worldwide on a vast array of topics. The output of the analytic tool, Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC)--a program that associates psychological meaning with the frequency of use of specific words--may suggest the nature of individuals’ internal states and general sentiments. When applied to groupings of SM posts unified by a hashtag, such information can be helpful to community leaders during periods in which the forming of public opinion happens in parallel with the unfolding of political, economic, or social events. This is especially true when outcomes stand to impact the well-being of the group. Here, we applied the online tools, Google Translate and the University of Texas’s LIWC, to a 90-posting sample from a corpus of Colombian Spanish microblogs. On translated disjoint sets, identified by hashtag as being authored by advocates of voting “No,” advocates voting “Yes,” and entities refraining from hashtag use, we observed the value of LIWC’s Tone feature as distinguishing among the categories and the word “peace,” as carrying particular significance, due to its frequency of use in the data.

Keywords: Colombia peace referendum, FARC, hashtags, linguistics, microblogging, social media

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Authors: Maari Sugawara

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This research critically engages with the erotic and political entanglements of male clientele of Dominatrices who identify as submissives (hereafter referred to as submissives) within Hong Kong's BDSM scene. Employing masochism as an analytical framework, it interrogates the intersections of capitalism, heteropatriarchy, postcolonialism, and commodified desire. BDSM (Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadism and Masochism) encompasses practices that explore power, control, and subordination through both physical and psychological role-play, predicated on consent, negotiation, and boundary delineation. This makes BDSM a fertile site for examining how dominance and submission are mobilized, challenged, and reiterated. This study focuses on the dynamics between thirty male submissives and three professional Dominatrices active in Hong Kong since 2019. The predominance of male interviewees reflects the demographic reality that most clients engaging with professional Dominatrices are male. These submissives—men who willfully relinquish control—offer a critical lens for exploring how BDSM, as both practice and market, mirrors and destabilizes dominant power structures. BDSM relationships occasionally replicate the hierarchical logics of heterosexual marriage, particularly in the expectation that submissives engage exclusively with a single Dominatrix, reflecting a dynamic of devotion and fidelity akin to traditional marital structures. However, these relationships also function as counter-normative spaces where care and control are reconfigured, enabling the negotiation of alternative power configurations. By centering BDSM work rather than broader kink practices, this study foregrounds the commodification of intimacy as a key site where suppressed desires, economic forces, and political tensions converge. The submissives in this study are predominantly affluent, cisgender men, underscoring the socio-economic asymmetries in the BDSM market. Furthermore, the research examines how Hong Kong’s political turbulence—particularly the 2019 Yellow Umbrella Movement and the COVID-19 pandemic—has reverberated through the BDSM scene, reshaping the contours of desire, trust, and power in these intimate transactions. The increasing tensions with mainland China, alongside the erosion of public trust in state institutions, form a critical backdrop to this evolving landscape. Grounded in gender and sexuality theories, this research interrogates how the desires of male submissives are constructed within and resist heteronormative frameworks. BDSM practices, far from existing outside capitalist and colonial logics, often act as both a mirror and critique of these systems, revealing complex ways in which power is commodified, enacted, and contested. In their pursuit of emotional care and alternative forms of control, male submissives navigate a paradoxical terrain where their masochistic desires both subvert and perpetuate the socio-political status quo. By examining the intersections of desire, commodification, and the shifting socio-political landscape, this research provides a nuanced understanding of how BDSM functions as a site of negotiation for those navigating the turbulent crosscurrents of capitalist and colonial legacies. Ultimately, it uncovers the complex interplay between erotic practices and the structures of power and identity in a city undergoing profound transformation.

Keywords: masochism, Hong Kong, identity, BDSM, dominatrix, masculinity, gender studies

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Authors: Mozhde Shafie, Nahid Naderi, Mandana Mangeli

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Is it true to say that Saadi was an idealized embodiment of his moral teachings in Gulistan and Boustan? The body of criticism on Saadi’s works suggests that his biography provides no clear and valid information to judge about the extent to which Saadi acted what he preached. His moral teachings depict a sort of individual and social morality which is defined in relation to power and falls in the category of political ethics. Political ethics appear as for the noble and the subordinate in Gulistan and Boustan. Ethics for the noble include all his teachings for governors and rulers in eulogies. On the other hand, ethics for the subordinate include all his suggestions for the public in relation to power position. Here, Saadi puts forward some conservative recommendations that trigger some contemporary critical commentaries. However, there are some cases where he takes up a third person narrative position to narrate the story of a king and a mendicant. In these stories, the mendicant is a witty man with bitter criticism on society, implying that one should relinquish earthly pleasures and advantages if he wants his criticism to be acceptable. First person narratives fall in two categories determinate and indeterminate narratives. Indirect speeches reflecting biographical facts are indeterminate narratives which give no information about the poet’s personality. Other narratives are more of an autobiography that report probable observations. These latter narratives demonstrate Saadi as a man quick at repartee that feels free to disclose his poverty and some cases of impiety. Therefore, they provide no idealized picture of the poet in terms of ethical principles.

Keywords: Saadi, ethics, Boustan, Gulistan, first-person narrative

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Authors: Feisal Khudher Mahmood, Abdul Samad Rahman Sultan

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Iraq had been a diverse society with races, cultures and religions that peacefully coexistence. The phenomenon of internal displacement occurred after April 2003, because of political instability as will as the deterioration of the political and security situation as a result of United States of America occupation. Biggest internal displacement have occurred (and keep happening) since 10th of June 2014 due to rise of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and it’s occupation of one third of country territories. This crisis effected directly 3,275,000 people and reflected negatively on the social fabric of Iraq community and led to waves of sectorial violence that swept the country. Internal displaced communities are vulnerable, especially under non functional and weak government, that led to lose of essential human rights and dignity. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Geospatial Techniques, two types of internal displacement have been found; voluntary and forced. Both types of displacement are highly influenced by location, race and religion. The main challenge for Iraqi government and NGOs will be after defeating ISIS. Helping the displaced to resettle within their community and to re-establish the coexistence. By spatial-statical analysis hot spots of future conflicts among displaced community have been highlighted. This will help the government to tackle future conflicts before they occur. Also, it will be the base for social conflict early warning system.

Keywords: internal displacement, Iraq, ISIS, human security, human rights, GIS, spatial-statical analysis

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Authors: Yasaman Azarmjoo

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Since ancient times, it has been said that mathematics is the mother of all sciences and the foundation of basic concepts in every field and profession. It would be great if, after learning this subject, we could enable students to create games and activities based on the same mathematical concepts. This article explores the design of various mathematical activities in the form of games, utilizing different mathematical topics such as algebra, equations, binary systems, and one-to-one correspondence. The theoretical significance of this article lies in uncovering alternative approaches to teaching and learning mathematics. By employing creative and interactive methods such as game design, it challenges the traditional perception of mathematics as a difficult and laborious subject. The theoretical significance of this article lies in demonstrating that mathematics can be made more accessible and enjoyable, which can result in heightened interest and engagement in the subject. In general, this article reveals another aspect of mathematics.

Keywords: playing with mathematics, algebra and equations, binary systems, one-to-one correspondence

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Authors: Mandisi Matyana

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Although the South African local government is doing all the best in ensuring improved service delivery for the citizens, service delivery disparity still remains the real challenge for other municipalities. The unequal distribution of services within municipal wards is causing unequal happiness among the citizens; hence others do enjoy different provided municipal services, while others do not. It is acknowledged that less access to municipal services infringes one’s rights, such as the right to human dignity and the right to life. Some of the municipal services are basic services and they are the mainstay of human survival, such as water, housing, etc. It is quite evident that the service delivery disparity could be caused by the various factors within the local municipality affairs, including both administrative and political factors. Therefore, this study is undertaken to check and evaluate the main foundations of service delivery disparity in ensuring equal development of the state, particularly for local communities. The study used the qualitative method to collect the data from the citizens of Winnie Madikizela Mandela Local Municipality. An extensive literature was also conducted in understanding the causes of service delivery disparity. Study findings prove that the service delivery disparity could be caused by factors such as political interference in administration, corruption and fraud, elevated unemployment levels, inadequate institutional capacity, etc. Therefore, the study recommends strong community participation and constant external supervision in the local government so as to encourage openness in local government to ensure fair administration towards services to be provided.

Keywords: administration, development, municipal services, service delivery disparity, Winnie Madikizela Mandela local municipality

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Authors: Ratih Andaruni Widhiantari

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The combination of the expanding population of aid agencies and the act of politicization in humanitarian intervention blurred the distinction between what humanitarianism accept as universal human rights in theory and their practices in humanitarian intervention. Humanitarian organizations were now venturing into the formerly taboo territory of politics that place individuals at risk, for examples, cooperating and coordinating with the intervening states, considering moments of destruction as opportunities for political change and even taking on functions that had once been the exclusive preserve of government. Hence, aid agencies were becoming involved in matters of local or even international politics. This study focuses on the comparison between Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctor without Borders different attitudes against political influences in humanitarian aid. It aims to untangle the bewilderment whether the contradictory approach to politics will becoming a barrier to performing their principles as humanitarian actors and also the consequences of taking that one particular position. The analysis of quantitative data and qualitative literature analysis are presented. The findings indicated Oxfam is actively engaged with politics. It welcomed government and private sector to shared cooperation to reach its goals to alleviate global inequalities. On the other hand, MSF has always taken a strong position to refuse any politics influence within their aid programmes. With no financial assistance from any government, MSF is free from any direct politics intervention. Hence, it can work efficiently with a clear objective to respond the demand side pressures from the people in needs. It is still publicly against politic involvement in the humanitarian activity, but practically, it has been moving forward to politicization in its own definition.

Keywords: humanitarian agencies, humanitarian intervention, humanitarian principles, politicization of humanitarianism

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Authors: Malik Imtiaz Ahmad

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Human beings are the super organism granted the gift of consciousness of life by the Almighty God and endowed with an intrinsic legal value to their humanity that shall be guarded and protected respecting dignity regardless of your cultural, religious, race, or physical background; you want to be treated equally for a reason for being human. Islam graces the essential integrity of humanity and confirms the freedom and accountability impact on individuality and the open societal sphere, including the moral, economic, and political aspects. Human Rights allow people to live with dignity, equality, justice, freedom, and peace. The Kantian approach to morality expresses that ethical actions follow universal moral laws. Hence, human rights are based upon the normative approaches setting the international standards to promote, guard, and protect the fundamental rights of the people. Islam is a divine religion commanding human rights based upon the principles of social justice and regulates all facets of the moral and spiritual ethics of Muslims besides bringing balance abreast in the non-Muslims to respect their lives with safety and security and property. The Canon law manifests the faith and equality amongst Christianity, regulating the communal dignity to build and promote the sanctity of Holy life (can. 208 to 223). This concept of the community is developed after the insight of the Islamic 'canon law', which is the code of revelation itself and inseparable from the natural part of the salvation of mankind. The etymology and history of human rights is a polemical debate in a preview of Islamic and Western culture. On the other hand, international law is meticulous about the fundamental part of Conon law that focuses on the communal political, social and economic relationship. The evolving process of human rights is considered to be an exclusive universal thought regarding an open society that forms a legal base for the constituent of international instruments of the protection of Human Rights, viz. UDHR. On the other side, Muslim scholars emphasize that human rights are devolving around Islamic law. Both traditions need a dire explanation of contemporary openness for bringing the harmonious universal law acceptable and applicable to the international communities concerning the anthropology of political, economic, and social aspects of a human being.

Keywords: human rights-based approach (HRBA), human rights in Islam, evolution of universal human rights, conflict in western, Islamic human rights

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Authors: Donald Ouko

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For decades, Africa has been home to several foreign companies doing business in various sectors. In recent years, China has consistently positioned itself as a development partner powerhouse among African nations. However, this has not been felt as equally beneficial to the local communities where the partnerships bloom in extractives trading. This paper explores the impact of Chinese involvement in mining on the local communities in three African countries, the factors that enable the sector to thrive amid the impacts, and what could be done differently for the local communities to experience a different outcome. It suggests alternative terms of engagement that aim at transparency, accountability, and anti-corruption to ensure inclusive social and economic development, and sound governance both at state and corporate levels.

Keywords: law and society, social development, corporate governance, China-Africa ties, human rights, socio-economic development, accountability, transparency

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Authors: Abdul Rahiman Kannam Kulam

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Reflecting the concepts of the development of the whole child, it is claimed that, purposeful engagement in physical activities or exercise involved ritual dances has the potential to engender in young people, the purpose of the present study was to analyze school children and their personal adjustment based on Ritual dance participation. For the purpose, two thousand and three hundred school children of Kerala were analyzed. AISS manual of A.K.P Sinha and R.P Singh was used to collect the data for adjustments. The adjustment qualities classifies as excellent, good, average, unsatisfactory and very unsatisfactory. The total performance denotes the state of adjustment based on the classifications. Findings of the study were subjected to percentages and ‘t’ ratio. The study enlightened that, the emotional, social and overall adjustments are better than non-athletes. But the study elucidated that, there is no difference in educational adjustment of school athletes and non athletes among school children.

Keywords: ritual dances, emotional adjustment, Poorakkali, Kolkkali, Margamkali

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Authors: Shuaibu Umar Abdul

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The essence of any state as well as government is to ensure and advance the security of lives and property of its citizens. As a result, providing security in all spheres ranging from safeguarding the territorial integrity, security of lives and property of the citizens as well as economic emancipation have constitute the core objectives cum national interest of virtually all country’s foreign policy in the world. In view of this imperative above, Nigeria has enshrined in the early part of her 1999 constitution as amended, as its duty and responsibility as a state, to ensure security of lives and property of its citizens. Yet, it does not make any significant shift as it relates to the country’s fundamental security needs as exemplified by the current enormous security challenges that reduced the country’s fortune to the background in all ramifications. The study chooses realist paradigm as theoretical underpinning which emphasizes that exigency of the moment should always take priority in the pursuit of foreign policy. The study is historical, descriptive and narrative in method and character. Data for the study was sourced from secondary sources and analysed via content analysis. The study found out that it is lack of political will on the side of the government to guarantee a just and egalitarian society that will be of benefit to all citizens. This could be more appreciated when looking at the gaps between the theory in Nigerian foreign policy and the practice as exemplified by the action or inaction of the government to ensure security in the state. On this account, the study recommends that until the leaderships in Nigerian foreign policy recognized the need for political will and respect for constitutionalism to ensure security of its citizens and territory, otherwise achieving great Nigeria will remain an illusion.

Keywords: foreign policy, nation, national security, Nigeria, security

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Authors: Evisa Mitrou, Nicholas Tsitsianis, Supriya Shinde

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In the age of digitisation and globalisation, businesses have shifted online and are investing in big data analytics (BDA) to respond to changing market conditions and sustain their performance. Our study shifts the focus from the adoption of BDA to the impact of BDA on financial performance. We explore the financial performance of both BDA-vendors (business-to-business) and BDA-clients (business-to-customer). We distinguish between the five BDA-technologies (big-data-as-a-service (BDaaS), descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics) and discuss them individually. Further, we use four perspectives (internal business process, learning and growth, customer, and finance) and discuss the significance of how each of the five BDA-technologies affects the performance measures of these four perspectives. We also present the analysis of employee engagement, average turnover, average net income, and average net assets for BDA-clients and BDA-vendors. Our study also explores the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on business continuity for both BDA-vendors and BDA-clients.

Keywords: BDA-clients, BDA-vendors, big data analytics, financial performance

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Authors: Anthony Mpiani

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Recent media and NGO reports suggest that human rights violations have been a salient characteristic of the government Joint Task Force (JTF) in the war on Boko Haram. However, there has been relatively scant scholarly engagement with the forms of abuses committed by the JTF against civilians and why such human rights violations occur. The focus of this paper is to analyse the various human rights violations committed by JTF in the war against Boko Haram. Employing a historical approach, it argues that the JTF's human rights violations is shaped by the philosophy of colonial policing in Nigeria. Consequently, the failure of successive post-colonial governments to ideologically transform policing is accountable for the human rights abuses being witnessed in Nigeria today. A philosophical transformation in Nigeria's security forces especially the police and military is a prerequisite for ending human rights abuses in the fight against Boko Haram.

Keywords: colonialism, policing, joint task force, counterinsurgency, Boko Haram, human rights violations

Procedia PDF Downloads 164

Authors: Nirmani Wijenayake, Louise Lutze-Mann, Lucy Jo, John Wilson, Vivian Yeung, Dean Lovett, Kim Snepvangers

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Sessional academic staff at universities have the most influence and impact on student learning, engagement, and experience as they have the most direct contact with undergraduate students. A blended technology-enhanced program was created for the development and support of sessional staff to ensure adequate training is provided to deliver quality educational outcomes for the students. This program combines innovative mixed media educational modules, a peer-driven support forum, and face-to-face workshops to provide a comprehensive training and support package for staff. Additionally, the program encourages the development of learning communities and peer mentoring among the sessional staff to enhance their support system. In 2018, the program was piloted on 100 sessional staff in the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences to evaluate the effectiveness of this model. As part of the program, rotoscope animations were developed to showcase ‘typical’ interactions between staff and students. These were designed around communication, confidence building, consistency in grading, feedback, diversity awareness, and mental health and wellbeing. When surveyed, 86% of sessional staff found these animations to be helpful in their teaching. An online platform (Moodle) was set up to disseminate educational resources and teaching tips, to host a discussion forum for peer-to-peer communication and to increase critical thinking and problem-solving skills through scenario-based lessons. The learning analytics from these lessons were essential in identifying difficulties faced by sessional staff to further develop supporting workshops to improve outcomes related to teaching. The face-to-face professional development workshops were run by expert guest speakers on topics such as cultural diversity, stress and anxiety, LGBTIQ and student engagement. All the attendees of the workshops found them to be useful and 88% said they felt these workshops increase interaction with their peers and built a sense of community. The final component of the program was to use an adaptive e-learning platform to gather feedback from the students on sessional staff teaching twice during the semester. The initial feedback provides sessional staff with enough time to reflect on their teaching and adjust their performance if necessary, to improve the student experience. The feedback from students and the sessional staff on this model has been extremely positive. The training equips the sessional staff with knowledge and insights which can provide students with an exceptional learning environment. This program is designed in a flexible and scalable manner so that other faculties or institutions could adapt components for their own training. It is anticipated that the training and support would help to build the next generation of educators who will directly impact the educational experience of students.

Keywords: designing effective instruction, enhancing student learning, implementing effective strategies, professional development

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Authors: Aleksandra Ibragimow, Moritz Albrecht, Eerika Albrecht

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Close international cooperation between all countries within a river basin has become one of the key aspects of sustainable cross-border water management. This is due to the fact that water does not stop at administrative or political boundaries. Therefore, the preferred mode to protect and manage transnational water bodies is close cooperation between all countries and stakeholders within the natural hydrological unit of the river basin. However, past practices have demonstrated that combining interests of different countries and stakeholders with differing political systems and management approaches to environmental issues upstream as well as downstream can be challenging. The study focuses on particular problems and challenges of water management in international river basin districts by the example of the International Oder River Basin District. The Oder River is one of the largest cross-border rivers of the Baltic Sea basin passing through Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Attention is directed towards the activities and the actions that were carried out during the Districts' first management cycle of transnational river basin management (2009-2015). The results show that actions of individual countries have been focused on the National Water Management Plans while a common appointment about identified supra-regional water management problems has not been solved, and conducted actions can be considered as preliminary and merely a basis for future management. This present state raises the question whether the achievement of main objectives of Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) can be a realistic task.

Keywords: International River Basin Districts, water management, water frameworkdirective, water management plans

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Authors: Azmat Farooq Ahmad Khurram, Sadaf Aslam

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This meta-analysis systematically examines the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in instructional methods across diverse educational settings through a thorough analysis of empirical research encompassing various disciplines, educational levels, and regions. This study aims to assess the effects of AI integration on teaching methodologies, classroom dynamics, teachers' roles, and student engagement. Various research methods were used to gather data, including literature reviews, surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions. Findings indicate paradigm shifts in teaching and education, identify emerging trends, practices, and the application of artificial intelligence in learning, and provide educators, policymakers, and stakeholders with guidelines and recommendations for effectively integrating AI in educational contexts. The study concludes by suggesting future research directions and practical considerations for maximizing AI's positive influence on pedagogical practices.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, teaching practices, meta-analysis, teaching-learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 77

Authors: Zoltán Höhling, Sarah-Lu Oberschelp, Niklas Gilsdorf, Michael Wirsching, Andrea Kuhnert

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A majority of medical students at the University of Freiburg reported stress-related psychosomatic symptoms which are often associated with their studies. International research supports these findings, as medical students worldwide seem to be at special risk for mental health problems. In some countries and institutions, psychologically based interventions that assist medical students in coping with their stressors have been implemented. It turned out that anonymity is an important aspect here. Many students fear a potential damage of reputation when being associated with mental health problems, which may be due to a high level of competitiveness in classes. Therefore, we launched an online-platform where medical students could anonymously seek help and exchange their experiences with fellow students and experts. Medical students of all semesters have access to it through the university’s learning management system (called “ILIAS”). The informative part of the platform consists of exemplary videos showing medical students (actors) who act out scenes that demonstrate the antecedents of stress-related psychosomatic disorders. These videos are linked to different expert comments, describing the exhibited symptoms in an understandable and normalizing way. The (inter-)active part of the platform consists of self-help tools (such as meditation exercises or general tips for stress-coping) and an anonymous interactive forum where students can describe their stress-related problems and seek guidance from experts and/or share their experiences with fellow students. Besides creating an immediate proposal to help affected students, we expect that competitiveness between students might be diminished and bondage improved through mutual support between them. In the initial phase after the platform’s launch, it was accessed by a considerable number of medical students. On a closer look it appeared that platform sections like general information on psychosomatic-symptoms and self-treatment tools were accessed far more often than the online-forum during the first months after the platform launch. Although initial acceptance of the platform was relatively high, students showed a rather passive way of using our platform. While user statistics showed a clear demand for information on stress-related psychosomatic symptoms and its possible remedies, active engagement in the interactive online-forum was rare. We are currently advertising the platform intensively and trying to point out the assured anonymity of the platform and its interactive forum. Our plans, to assure students their anonymity through the use of an e-learning facility and promote active engagement in the online forum, did not (yet) turn out as expected. The reasons behind this may be manifold and based on either e-learning related issues or issues related to students’ individual needs. Students might, for example, question the assured anonymity due to a lack of trust in the technological functioning university’s learning management system. However, one may also conclude that reluctance to discuss stress-related psychosomatic symptoms with peer medical students may not be solely based on anonymity concerns, but could be rooted in more complex issues such as general mistrust between students.

Keywords: e-tutoring, stress-coping, student support, online forum

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Authors: Abdullah Almowanes

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The speed of adoption of new information and communication technologies is often seen as an indicator of the growth of knowledge- and technological innovation-based regional economies. Indeed, technological progress and scientific inquiry in any society have undergone a particularly profound transformation with the introduction of computer networks. In the spring of 1981, the Bitnet network was launched to link thousands of nodes all over the world. In 1985 and as one of the first adopters of Bitnet, Saudi Arabia launched a Bitnet-based network named Gulfnet that linked computer centers, universities, and libraries of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries through high speed communication lines. In this paper, the origins and the deployment of Gulfnet are discussed as well as social, economical, political, and cultural ramifications of the new information reality created by the network. Despite its significance, the social and cultural aspects of Gulfnet have not been investigated in history of science and technology literature to a satisfactory degree before. The presented research is based on an extensive archival research aimed at seeking out and analyzing of primary evidence from archival sources and records. During its decade and a half-long existence, Gulfnet demonstrated that the scope and functionality of public computer networks in Saudi Arabia have to be fine-tuned for compliance with Islamic culture and political system of the country. It also helped lay the groundwork for the subsequent introduction of the Internet. Since 1980s, in just few decades, the proliferation of computer networks has transformed communications world-wide.

Keywords: Bitnet, computer networks, computing and culture, Gulfnet, Saudi Arabia

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: W. S. Barber, S. L. King

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This paper is a qualitative case study analysis of the development of a fully online learning community of graduate students through arts-based community building activities. With increasing numbers and types of online learning spaces, it is incumbent upon educators to continue to push the edge of what best practices look like in digital learning environments. In digital learning spaces, instructors can no longer be seen as purveyors of content knowledge to be examined at the end of a set course by a final test or exam. The rapid and fluid dissemination of information via Web 3.0 demands that we reshape our approach to teaching and learning, from one that is content-focused to one that is process-driven. Rather than having instructors as formal leaders, today’s digital learning environments require us to share expertise, as it is the collective experiences and knowledge of all students together with the instructors that help to create a very different kind of learning community. This paper focuses on innovations pursued in a 36 hour 12 week graduate course in higher education entitled “Critical and Reflective Practice”. The authors chronicle their journey to developing a fully online learning community (FOLC) by emphasizing the elements of social, cognitive, emotional and digital spaces that form a moving interplay through the community. In this way, students embrace anywhere anytime learning and often take the learning, as well as the relationships they build and skills they acquire, beyond the digital class into real world situations. We argue that in order to increase student online engagement, pedagogical approaches need to stem from two primary elements, both creativity and critical reflection, that are essential pillars upon which instructors can co-design learning environments with students. The theoretical framework for the paper is based on the interaction and interdependence of Creativity, Intuition, Critical Reflection, Social Constructivism and FOLCs. By leveraging students’ embedded familiarity with a wide variety of technologies, this case study of a graduate level course on critical reflection in education, examines how relationships, quality of work produced, and student engagement can improve by using creative and imaginative pedagogical strategies. The authors examine their professional pedagogical strategies through the lens that the teacher acts as facilitator, guide and co-designer. In a world where students can easily search for and organize information as self-directed processes, creativity and connection can at times be lost in the digitized course environment. The paper concludes by posing further questions as to how institutions of higher education may be challenged to restructure their credit granting courses into more flexible modules, and how students need to be considered an important part of assessment and evaluation strategies. By introducing creativity and critical reflection as central features of the digital learning spaces, notions of best practices in digital teaching and learning emerge.

Keywords: online, pedagogy, learning, communities

Procedia PDF Downloads 404