Search Results (1,841)

Quality assurance in higher education increasingly depends on the capacity of institutions to transform stakeholder engagement into usable evidence for decision-making and continuous improvement. Among external stakeholders, alumni represent a potentially strategic but underutilized source of information on the relevance of training processes and their alignment with professional trajectories. However, the existence of alumni engagement does not guarantee its integration into formal quality assurance systems. This study analyzes how an institutional alumni management model is designed to articulate graduate engagement with internal quality assurance processes. Adopting a qualitative case study approach based on documentary analysis, the research examines the organizational architecture of a Chilean university, focusing on the mechanisms through which alumni participation is expected to be translated into evidence for academic decision-making. The findings show that the model combines strong relational infrastructures with emerging mechanisms for data capture and circulation. However, the institutionalization of processes for interpreting and using evidence remains less developed, revealing an asymmetry between participation, data production, and decision-making. Based on these results, the study conceptualizes alumni integration into quality assurance as a multi-stage process involving participation, data capture, circulation, and use, highlighting the organizational conditions required for each stage. The study contributes by proposing a process model of institutional translation that identifies the organizational breakdowns through which alumni engagement may remain disconnected from formal quality assurance processes. In doing so, it shows that the effectiveness of quality assurance systems depends not on the availability of data alone, but on the governance arrangements that enable evidence to be interpreted, circulated, and used. Full article

This study investigates place-based barriers to initial teacher training (ITT) recruitment in rural-coastal regions of England, focusing on Cornwall as a case study. Utilizing semi-structured interviews with nine ITT provider leaders and nine trainee teachers, the research applies the concept of educational isolation to ITT providers in areas that are geographically remote, socioeconomic disadvantaged, and culturally isolated. The analysis is framed by the critical pedagogy of place and social capital theory, moving beyond deficit-based interpretations of rurality to critically examine how place-based inequities are produced through urban-normative policy and resource allocation. Primary data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four substantive themes emerged: transport dependency and accessibility constraints that structurally exclude lower-income and disabled trainees; housing displacement driven by the tourist economy, which compounds financial insecurity; an “employment precarity problem” where localized primary school oversaturation coexists with secondary teacher shortages; and cultural and professional isolation that disproportionately impacts ethnically diverse trainees in demographically homogeneous communities. The research further identifies that community resilience, while enabling individuals to navigate structural barriers, can obscure infrastructural inadequacy and diminish impetus for systemic policy reform. This paper contributes to international scholarship on spatial justice and rural teacher education by presenting an integrated conceptual framework with transferable relevance to similar rural-coastal and peripheral contexts globally and by offering policy recommendations for place-weighted ITT funding, infrastructure investment in educationally isolated areas, and the development of collaborative provider models. Full article

This study presents a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of gamified platforms for cybersecurity education and training, with a particular focus on environments that incorporate attack–defence simulation. The review examines how the literature addresses gamification, User eXperience (UX), didactics, platform design, and sustainability-related deployment conditions across higher education as the primary reference context, while also considering adjacent applied training contexts when they provide transferable evidence for platform design, deployment, or evaluation, including online learning. We analysed 172 studies published between 1 January 2015 and 8 March 2026. The findings show that the field combines authentic hands-on practice with challenge-based learning, feedback-rich progression, and diverse technical formats, including cyber range environments, serious games, CTF-oriented platforms, cloud-based infrastructures, and modular training systems. The review also indicates that the educational value of these approaches depends on the alignment between pedagogical structure, interaction design, and technical architecture, as well as on safe experimentation, adaptability, governance, and long-term maintainability. The review contributes an evidence-based taxonomy and configurational synthesis of recurrent design patterns across UX, didactics, gamification, architecture, and sustainability, and it identifies implications for future empirical research and for the design of sustainable, learner-centred cybersecurity teaching platforms. Full article

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transitioning from a specialized technology to an everyday socio-technical infrastructure, yet public acceptance remains shaped by a trade-off between perceived benefits and risks. This study examines how individuals from varied demographic and professional backgrounds perceive, use, and evaluate AI-enabled systems using a mixed-method research design. A bilingual (English/Arabic) online survey ($N=115$) captured demographics, awareness, usage patterns, perceived impact, self-assessed understanding, domain-specific trust, concerns, and attitudes toward regulation, complemented by open-ended reflections. In parallel, semi-structured face-to-face interviews provided deeper insight into AI conceptualization, lived experiences, trust boundaries, and conditions for acceptable use. Quantitative results show frequent AI engagement embedded in daily life, with strong domain dependence in trust: education is the most trusted domain, whereas healthcare and finance attract substantially lower trust. Prominent concerns include overreliance (“brain rot”), privacy and data misuse, job displacement, and misinformation. Support for stronger AI regulation is high, indicating that governance is viewed as a prerequisite for sustainable adoption rather than a constraint on innovation. Qualitative findings triangulate these results, revealing a pattern of conditional acceptanceunderstood as the simultaneous valuation of AI’s practical utility alongside the imposition of explicit trust prerequisites whereby participants value AI for productivity and learning support while emphasizing confidentiality, transparency, human oversight in high-stakes contexts, and clear boundaries to mitigate misuse and erosion of human judgment. The study offers empirically grounded insights for policymakers, educators, and industry stakeholders into how AI acceptance is negotiated through utility, literacy, perceived risk, and expectations of accountability. Full article

Social media platforms increasingly function as informal education systems for programming learning, yet the systemic support structures these environments provide remain poorly understood. We analyzed 40,004 comments from programming tutorial videos on a major social media platform (2016–April 2025) to identify patterns of learner support needs at scale. Using BERTopic, we identified twelve discussion themes. We then consolidated these themes into a learner-needs typology based on their dominant support functions: instructional-oriented needs, operational support needs, and knowledge-constructionneeds. We mapped this typology onto the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework to assess its explanatory coverage. This mapping revealed a critical systemic gap. Operational support needs, covering environment configuration, tool integration, dependency management, and technical troubleshooting, constituted the largest category (44.53% of theme-level discourse), exceeding both knowledge-construction needs (28.42%) and instructional-oriented needs (26.95%). Learners repeatedly described these infrastructure-level challenges as disrupting their attempts to engage with content, execute code for testing ideas, and coordinate with peers, yet these operational readiness needs are not fully specified by CoI’s traditional presences. Social presence did not emerge as a standalone theme at the topic-modeling level; rather, social cues were often embedded within task-oriented troubleshooting. Based on these findings, we propose Technical Presence as a context-sensitive extension to the CoI framework, defined as the extent to which a learning community enables operational readiness through accessible infrastructure support and collaborative troubleshooting. As an infrastructural support condition, Technical Presence supports operational readiness within tool-dependent, practice-based learning: when learners report infrastructure failure, the conditions for enacting instructional design, cognitive inquiry, and peer collaboration are correspondingly weakened. These findings carry implications for content creators, platform developers, and education system designers seeking to strengthen the infrastructural foundations of technology-enhanced learning at scale. Full article

This study examines the associations between integrating sustainability principles into early-stage planning education and changes in students’ sustainability perceptions within a studio-based course. Conducted in the Urban Design Planning Studio 3 course between 2021 and 2024, the research involved 63 second-year urban and regional planning students. Using a mixed-methods, one-group pre-test–post-test design, the study combined quantitative data from the Sustainable Urban Environment Perception Scale (SUEPS)—covering ecological, transportation, and semi-structured dimensions—with qualitative analyses of open-ended responses via content analysis and thematic clustering. Findings reveal a statistically significant improvement in overall sustainability perception, with the most notable gains in ecological sustainability and solid waste management. Moderate improvements were also observed in social and economic dimensions, while transportation was comparatively more limited. Qualitative results indicate a clear shift from fragmented, resource-based understandings toward more integrated, system-oriented, and multi-scalar interpretations of sustainability. Students demonstrated increased conceptual diversity, stronger connections between ecological, infrastructural, and social themes, and more frequent use of planning-related terminology. The consistency between quantitative and qualitative findings suggests that structured studio-based learning processes may be contribute to the conceptual development of sustainability literature. Overall, the study highlights the potential of early-stage sustainability education to support ecological literacy and sustainability-oriented planning perspectives within urban planning curricula. Full article

Achieving carbon-neutral cities requires innovative strategies that integrate technological carbon capture, sustainable urban infrastructure, and proactive public engagement. While microalgae-based systems have shown promise for CO₂ sequestration and resource recovery, their scalability remains constrained by high costs and energy-intensive photobioreactor (PBR) designs. Here, we propose the retrofit of existing urban fountains into high-efficiency microalgae cultivation systems—microalgae-enhanced fountain landscapes—as an integrated solution that bridges ecological function and social outreach. This approach capitalizes on ubiquitous fountain infrastructure to minimize deployment costs, employs advanced fountain-style cultivation technology to enhance biomass productivity, and leverages strategic locations in high-footfall urban zones to actively elevate public carbon literacy and motivate low-carbon behavioral shifts through immersive engagement—a vital step toward city-wide participatory climate action. We critically analyze the feasibility of this system, highlighting its potential for multi-stakeholder value creation across developers, municipalities, and citizens. Furthermore, we synthesize recent advances in suspended microalgae cultivation, building-integrated PBRs, and microalgae-informed landscape design to contextualize the development pathway of fountain-based systems. By uniting technical efficiency with civic education, this work establishes a replicable framework for scalable urban deployment—simultaneously advancing carbon mitigation, public awareness, and circular resource flows in the transition toward climate-resilient cities. Full article

Diagnostic imaging is central to clinical decision-making across many care pathways, yet the expertise needed to use these images well is unevenly distributed across health systems, with workforce limitations identified as a major barrier to equitable access, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Digital education has emerged as one response to this gap, offering scalability, asynchronous and just-in-time access, and the cost-efficiency required for global deployment. This paper examines the digital education portfolio of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section, hosted mainly on the open-access Human Health Campus, which in 2025 recorded approximately 45,800 active users and 150,000 views across 159 countries. The portfolio combines structured e-learning courses, interactive webinars, virtual conference access through the Livestream programme, and a broader repository of publications, teaching cases, and reference resources, supported by an internal e-learning framework and learning management system infrastructure. Partnerships with international scientific societies further extend the reach of expert knowledge and professional exchange. The paper argues that these initiatives are best understood not as content delivery alone but as a coordinated strategy to support diagnostic quality at the level of the practising physician, extending access to expertise and strengthening the conditions for better practice, while remaining a complement to, rather than a substitute for, supervised clinical training. Full article

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for strengthening school quality assurance through knowledge management to support sustainable education. Drawing on the international priorities of the OECD and UNESCO, the study positions school self-evaluation as a central quality-assurance mechanism that can promote continuous improvement, accountability, equity, and better learning outcomes. Methodologically, the study adopts a quantitative research design to collect data from 978 teachers across 20 schools in Hong Kong. Exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were employed to identify the latent variables and validate the conceptual framework. Results show that effective quality assurance depends on both formal procedures and the school’s capacity to create, share, and use knowledge. Key knowledge management enablers include visionary leadership, professional autonomy, bureaucratic control, information technology infrastructure, and a collaborative culture of knowledge sharing. Within this model, professional autonomy and knowledge sharing link management conditions to evidence-informed reflection, planning, and improvement. The framework is situated in the context of Hong Kong schools while offering broader relevance for education systems seeking sustainable development. The study concludes that sustainable school self-evaluation is driven primarily by teacher professional autonomy (β = 0.738, total effect = 0.795), with knowledge sharing functioning as a critical mediating mechanism that transmits the effects of visionary leadership (indirect β = 0.343) and enabling bureaucratic control (indirect β = 0.103) into evaluation quality. IT infrastructure does not exert a significant direct effect on SSE (β = 0.056, p = 0.098), indicating that technological provision is a necessary but insufficient condition for evaluation effectiveness in the Hong Kong context. Full article

This paper investigates the settlement experiences of Hong Kong British National (Overseas) [BN(O)] migrants in the UK, with a particular focus on housing as a central mechanism shaping their wellbeing, security, and integration. Following the introduction of the BN(O) visa route in 2021, this study draws on qualitative interviews with migrants in the North of England to explore how housing mediates conditional settlement under a marketised migration regime. Findings reveal that housing functions as the primary infrastructure of settlement, influencing employment, education, and family life, while access is conditioned by migrants’ capacity to absorb market risks such as advance rent payments and landlord discretion. The study highlights significant intra-group stratification shaped by financial resources, family composition, and transnational support, with family responsibilities intensifying housing precarity and constraining choices. Moreover, a moralised ethos of self-reliance among migrants normalises hidden insecurity and limits formal support-seeking. This research contributes to migration and housing scholarship by demonstrating how ostensibly humanitarian migration pathways reproduce uneven security through housing systems, underscoring the need for policy interventions that address the cumulative effects of housing insecurity on settlement and wellbeing. Full article

The study investigated the tensile strength and elongation properties of abaca fiber-reinforced polymer (AFRP) composites after varying durations of seawater soaking, with a focus on their potential for reinforcing fiber-optic cables. It aims to bridge industrial technology education, experiential learning, and green technology by evaluating abaca fiber as a sustainable alternative to synthetic aramid yarn. Conducted at Caraga State University, Cabadbaran Campus (CSUCC), the research utilized a quasi-experimental product development design involving industrial technology students and instructors. Tensile strength testing and comparative analysis were performed on abaca fiber samples (A, B, and C) subjected to different seawater soaking durations. Results show that soaking time significantly affects the fiber strength, with Sample A achieving the highest tensile strength (5631.5 MPa) and Sample C the lowest (1679.8 MPa). Findings indicate that prolonged exposure to seawater weakens abaca fiber, emphasizing the need for controlled treatment to optimize its industrial applications. This study emphasizes the importance of hands-on learning in industrial technology education, promoting critical thinking and technical skills while underscoring sustainability. The research advocates for eco-friendly materials in industrial applications and highlights the potential of abaca fiber composites. Future studies should investigate pre-treatment methods to enhance fiber durability, assess the long-term environmental performance, and conduct large-scale pilot testing to evaluate commercial viability. By integrating sustainable innovations into industrial technology education, this study contributes to advancing natural fiber composites for manufacturing and telecommunications infrastructure. Full article

Digital financial services have expanded rapidly across emerging economies and are often presented as tools for advancing women’s economic inclusion. However, the extent to which digital finance is associated with lower gender inequality depends on the broader structural conditions in which women live and work. This study examines the relationship between digital financial participation, labor market integration, and gender inequality in Brazil using nationally representative microdata from the 2025 Global Findex survey. Three outcomes are examined: digital account ownership, use of any digital payment, and engagement in merchant digital payments. Multivariate logit models show moderate gender gaps at early stages of digital financial participation. However, these gaps are not uniform across the population. The interaction results show that gender differences are concentrated mainly among individuals outside employment and among those without internet access. Among employed and digitally connected individuals, the gender gap becomes small and statistically insignificant across the three outcomes. A nonlinear decomposition shows that observable socioeconomic characteristics explain only a small share of the aggregate gender gap, especially for account ownership and any digital payment use. Additional robustness checks using probit and complementary log-log models support the main pattern of results. This suggests that the gender gap cannot be explained only by differences in education, income, employment, or internet access, and may also reflect unobserved household, institutional, or social constraints. The findings suggest that digital finance alone does not equalize participation. Rather, women’s digital financial participation is closely associated with their position in the labor market and their access to digital infrastructure. Because the analysis is based on cross-sectional data, the results should be interpreted as conditional associations rather than causal effects. Digital financial expansion is therefore more likely to support gender inclusion when it is linked to broader policies that strengthen women’s labor force attachment, digital connectivity, and economic autonomy. Full article

Background: Women remain the primary caregivers globally, especially in rural, low-resource settings plagued by poverty, unemployment, low education and poor infrastructure. These factors limit caregiving capacity, heighten vulnerability and increase the risk of food insecurity in female-headed households. Objective: To establish a baseline profile of caregivers of primary school children. Methods: Phase 1 (baseline) of the study was conducted using a quantitative, exploratory cross-sectional survey design among 75 female caregivers of children aged 7–13 years in Qwa-Qwa, Free State Province. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling. Data were collected with a structured, pre-validated questionnaire on socio-demographics, alongside anthropometric measurements. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results: Most participants were unemployed (73.3%) and had low educational attainment, with 86.7% having completed primary school or less. A substantial proportion of households (80.0%) reported a monthly income below R1000. Food insecurity was common, with 69.3% of caregivers reporting experiences of food shortages. Household infrastructure was limited, particularly in refuse removal services (96.0% without access). Despite these socio-economic constraints, a high prevalence of overweight and obesity (72.5%) was observed amongst the participants. Conclusions: Caregivers experience severe, overlapping socio-economic and environmental vulnerabilities alongside a high prevalence of overweight and obesity. The study highlights the need for multi-sectoral interventions focused on poverty reduction, rural infrastructure development, improved service delivery, women’s empowerment and strengthened livelihood opportunities to improve household nutrition and resilience. Full article

Purpose: This study investigates the multifaceted dynamics of institutional sustainability (IS) within the higher education sectors of Saudi Arabia and Egypt. It examines the direct influence of cultural, technological, and economic factors, alongside change management techniques (CMT), on the sustainability of universities in these two nations. Methodology: Employing a comparative, mixed-methods approach, the research collected data from 427 university staff members across Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized for data analysis, complemented by Multiple Group Analysis (MGA) to explore variations across different demographics, including gender, geographical location, and institution type (public vs. private). Findings: The study reveals that Change Management Techniques (CMT), cultural norms, technological infrastructure, and economic factors all significantly and directly influence institutional sustainability. Effective CMT is crucial for successful technological integration and mitigating staff resistance. Cultural norms, particularly in high power distance and collectivist societies, profoundly impact the adoption of innovations. A robust technological infrastructure is foundational for operational efficiency and educational outcomes, while strategic economic planning and diversified funding streams are vital for long-term stability and growth. Originality: This research offers actionable insights for policymakers and academic leaders by providing a nuanced understanding of how to build resilient, sustainable, and technologically advanced educational institutions in the Middle East. It emphasizes the necessity of context-specific strategies that acknowledge the unique regional socio-cultural and economic realities of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, bridging the gap between global sustainability paradigms and local implementation challenges. Full article

Background/Objectives: Person-centred psychosocial and rehabilitation interventions are increasingly relevant in long-term care (LTC) for older people with multimorbidity. Existing classifications describe the technical nature of these interventions rather than the LTC needs addressed by their delivered components. This study aimed to map delivered or reported components from a published parent review onto the World Health Organization long-term care framework. Methods: We conducted a framework-guided secondary analysis of 18 randomised controlled trials, including 9132 participants, from the parent review. Trials were conducted in LTC or settings relevant to LTC. Components were deductively mapped at study level to five framework domains: health care needs, palliative care needs, social care and support needs, person-centred integrated care, and education and training. Mapping followed predefined operational rules, a codebook, and a decision log. Planned-only components were excluded. Results were synthesised descriptively, without reassessing intervention efficacy. Results: Health care needs were identified in 17 of 18 trials, social care and support needs in 14, person-centred integrated care in all 18, and education and training in 17. Palliative care needs were less frequently represented, appearing in four trials. Psychosocial and Rehabilitation components were interpreted as mainly representing the technical-therapeutic core of interventions, while Complementary components were interpreted as supporting the operational infrastructure of care, including assessment, planning, coordination, monitoring, referral, training, documentation, and continuity. Conclusions: This framework-guided secondary analysis suggests broad but uneven coverage of WHO long-term care domains across the included trials. Future trials should more explicitly align targeted needs, delivered components, and outcome assessment, including social, caregiver, palliative, continuity, and person-centred care experience outcomes. Full article