The Reach of Digital Games and Their Potential as Global Communication Tools

This paper examines the potential of digital games as communication tools to reach global audiences, extending beyond established cultural and geopolitical divides. It shows the empirical data gathered in our EU and UKRI-funded Games Realising Effective and Affective Transformation (GREAT) project, where we collaborated with several organizations to investigate this potential. Namely, a significant case study called Play2Act was undertaken in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which forms the focus of this paper. The aims of this study were to find out how much of the world’s population could be reached via digital games and how many citizens would be willing to communicate their climate attitudes in a simple and short survey that was inserted into popular mobile games. Currently, there are 3 billion gamers in the world and the idea of reaching citizens via games to understand their opinions on critical global issues and then passing this information to policy-makers emerged. This is the main objective of our project, as to whether games can act as an effective communication channel between citizens and policy-makers, the context being the climate emergency. Governments do not typically have the opportunity to understand their citizens’ needs fully. The aim of this project is to decrease the barrier and increase representation and democracy. The findings obtained from the Play2Act study suggest that games, moreover their ability to engage, and inherent social dynamics create a unique opportunity to support meaningful dialogue with a large proportion of citizens reached, engaged and completed the surveys. The study engaged with almost 1 million players from every UN recognised country, with only two exceptions, and ca. 181,000 surveys completed, confirming the global reach of games. The next steps are for UNDP to take this information to individual countries with recommendations of appropriate climate policies based on their citizens’ voices, this having huge potential for digital games being policy transformational tools. This research contributes to knowledge on the intersection of technology, culture, and communication and offers valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholder groups seeking to leverage digital games for social impact

An empirical study on the impact of digital marketing strategy to consumer decision making and customer communication in Islamic banking sector a case study of the UK

This study aims to investigate the effects of digital marketing strategy implementation on customer communication and consumer decision making within the Islamic banking industry in the United Kingdom. Earlier theories states that the banking industry's marketing and advertising department requires an effective method to attract a substantial number of customers which is the research problem identified. Hence, it is critical to assess the potential efficacy of marketing strategies that banks can adopt to enhance profitability in this domain. The researcher was motivated to investigate the viability of digital marketing strategies in Islamic institutions operating in the United Kingdom due to the aforementioned factors. However, marketers operating in Islamic institutions have been constrained in their ability to implement digital marketing strategies due to the dearth of research in this particular sector. To ensure an exhaustive dataset for the study, the researcher employed a mixed methodology approach, which facilitated the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data from Islamic institutions in the United Kingdom in particular. The researcher employed a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection methodological approaches. NVIVO software was employed to analyze a qualitative dataset collected via semi-structured interviews using thematic analysis. In contrast, the researcher employed questionnaires to administer surveys and analyze quantitative data using the IBM SPSS statistical software, adhering to the T-test correlation matrix. The researcher intends to collect the data from respondents affiliated with Islamic banking institutions. Ten marketing executives from financial institutions were invited to participate in the interviews, and an additional 150 clients utilising the services of the Islamic banking sector were surveyed. The findings indicated that the responses exhibited internal consistency, as assessed by Cronbach's alpha. This provides further support for the reliability of the questionnaire utilised in the study. Furthermore, to ascertain the validity of the content, a content validity score and index were formulated based on the input of ten subject matter experts (SMEs). In contrast to the normal distribution of the data, the Mann-Whitney U test was employed to facilitate comparisons. The Mann-Whitney U test exposes deficiencies in the digital marketing strategy's ability to effectively engage with consumers; this is further supported by the Chi-Square results. The findings concluded that digital marketing strategies promoted communication among customers, and improved communication resulted in enhanced engagement, better awareness regarding Islamic laws, and better understanding of the purchasing behaviour of consumers

Re-appraisal of legal systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: questioning the legal pluralism paradigm

The notion that multiple legal systems autonomously coexist in independent states in sub-Saharan Africa due to the interaction of the continent with foreign legal systems is theoretically flawed, misleading and an incorrect application of the concept of legal pluralism. This article examines the nature of legal pluralism in the context of transitioning independent nation-states. It contends that these nation-states, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, do not operate legally pluralistic legal systems, as often presented in scholastic works. Using system and lifecycle theories, this article argues against the prevailing conceptualization of legal pluralism in African legal systems. We argue that the prevailing conceptualization of pluralistic legal systems in sub-Saharan Africa is based on the fallacy of the undistributed middle, leading to flawed conclusions and disastrous governance outcomes. This widespread orthodoxy in legal and sociopolitical scholarship heightens perceived conflicts between imperial universalism and cultural existentialism, which has been the epicenter of legal discussion in Africa’s transitioning nations

Letting nothing do itself

Western thought emphasizes rival philosophical schools, engaged in winning or losing debates. Canonical references to thinkers as midwives, nurses, or mothers of ideas are rare. Such metaphors would imply not an enemy but rather a co-creator, and an intimate co-operation. Attempts to vanquish the canonical masculine-dominator style of thought with some version of a non-wounding, compassionate mode of thinking readily mimic the power-structures and gender-binaries they seek to oppose. Such is the problem this chapter addressed. During the last three years, the authors have collaboratively explored philosophical, theological, and aesthetic issues via a praxis-led ornamentation method. Starting from NOTHING, they allow elements which seem meaningless in themselves to entangle through intra-action. Neither author has any territory or position to attack, judge, or defend. The chapter is not a dialogue, not a dialectic, nor even two-persons-making-something-together. It is a trans-human performance that allows the space and material between the contributors to become a/live environment—an ecology in which the world can create itself

Identifying illegal waste dumps scenes using deep learning on aerial and satellite images

Illegal waste dumping is a great threat to the environment and the health of people worldwide. Through the application of a deep learning concept, this study introduces an innovative discovery of identifying scenes of illegal waste dump (IWD) utilizing aerial and satellite imagery (ASI). The study combines an advanced feature pyramid network (FPN) and the robust ResNet101 architecture to optimize the model to manage the complicated, variable data that is characteristic of remote sensing (RS) data. Significantly, this model attained a remarkable recall of 0.95 and AUC of 0.95, showing the model's superiority in recognising actual waste scenes, which is of great essence in the effort to conserve the environment. Although the accuracy was relatively low (0.39), the high recall level will make sure that the model will have minimum false alarms in illegal dumping areas, which is needed to effectively manage waste and sustain the environment. Such findings not only encourage the technological opportunities in waste management but also provide significant knowledge regarding the future enhancement and implementation of the sources in environmental observation systems

Supporting HEI academics: the strategic role of service user and carer involvement in teaching and learning

Service User and Carer Involvement (SUCI) in Health and Social Care education is increasingly recognised as a core component in health professional education. Numerous UK Professional Statutory Regulatory Bodies (PSRB) mandate that SUCI should be central to health professional education but there is no agreed framework for HEI academics to develop and establish their SUCI strategy to meet local institutional needs. Consequently, embedding meaningful engagement remains challenging for many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). A series of ongoing webinars, designed to equip academic staff with the knowledge, confidence and tools to incorporate SUCI voices into their teaching practice is ongoing as a national webinar series. The webinars have proved to be instrumental in promoting an expanding culture of collaboration and engagement across multiple HEIs. The session aims to address the challenges faced by HEIs in embedding meaningful SUCI in health and social care education. Recognising SUCI as a crucial element. It will explore a collaborative initiative among three HEIs that are sharing and learning from best practices to integrate authentic SUCI involvement into their educational strategies. The goal is to ensure that students have meaningful learning opportunities that incorporate the voices and experiences of service users and carers. It will offer practical insights into designing flexible frameworks and standards to promote meaningful engagement, enhancing the educational experience for students and making it more relevant to realworld health and social care scenarios. This development aligns with the priorities in The Vancouver Statement 2015 (Towle et al 2016)The conference is international and interprofessional in scope. Interested professions will include: medicine, nursing, midwifery, physical therapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy, kinesiology, social work, dietetics, audiology, speech-language pathology, and other health disciplines. Participants and presenters will include: Educators Practitioners Patients/clients Service users/carers Community Organizations Researchers Policy makers Student

Understanding The Gig Worker's Internal Processes in Digital Labour Ecosystem: A Narrative Literature Review

This developmental paper presents initial findings from a narrative literature study on the digital ecosystem, gig workers, and the gig economy. Our analysis is based on 24 articles included in the narrative literature review. As a result, we propose a conceptual framework for the digital labour ecosystem, drawing on evidence from current digital ecosystems through a labour perspective. Furthermore, we identify seven key personal resources of gig workers. This paper provides a broader perspective on the digital ecosystem by examining workers' mechanisms. Our findings also highlight how these seven personal resources, specific to gig workers, differ from those of traditional employees

Artificial Intelligence Policies for Higher Education: Manifesto for Critical Considerations and a Roadmap

This paper investigates the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) technology and educational policy in higher education, highlighting key research and implementation. The paper focuses on critical considerations for AI policy development with a view to producing a roadmap focused on contextual higher education AI policies. The rapid development of AI presents both significant opportunities and challenges for higher education institutions in Europe and globally. As AI technologies become ubiquitous, integrated into teaching, learning, and administrative functions, it is essential to identify critical considerations at the core of the AI integration process, namely: (1) regulatory framework, (2) stakeholder-specific guidelines, (3) AIED research, and (4) AI literacy. As a starting point, the paper presents a review of existing AI policy frameworks within higher education, drawing on recent empirical research, identifying four design and implementation priorities for higher education stakeholders aiming to create responsible AI governance frameworks. As a result, we propose a roadmap designed to be used as strategic planning instrument for higher education stakeholders developing AI policies and guidance. In proposing a strategic roadmap for AI policy development, the work offers valuable insight into how higher education can effectively leverage the potential of AI whilst ensuring ethical considerations, equity, and maintaining academic integrity. Additionally, the paper contributes to the ongoing discourse regarding AI’s role in higher education in proposing research pathways that will benefit all stakeholders involved in the academic ecosystem

The definition of terrorism Legal and conceptual clarity to the true meaning of terrorism - formulating a universally acceptable legal definition of terrorism

his research confronts one of the most intractable and politically weaponised failures in international law: the absence of a clear, coherent, and universally acceptable legal definition of terrorism. Far from constituting a mere semantic gap, this definitional crisis reveals a deliberate juridical strategy—engineered through geopolitical compromise, sustained by normative asymmetry, and operationalised to legitimise state violence, criminalise dissent, and erase subaltern resistance. Drawing on over 1,200 legal, political, media, and policy texts across five jurisdictions, this study empirically exposes how terrorism functions not as a neutral category of violence, but as a juridico-political artefact structured by power, ideology, and colonial residue. Guided by an interpretivist epistemology, the research triangulates Critical Discourse Analysis, Postcolonial Theory, and Constructivist International Legal Theory to interrogate the discursive, doctrinal, and structural dimensions of terrorism law. Through methodological triangulation, including doctrinal interpretation, comparative legal analysis, and multi-genre discourse coding, the study identifies five recurring but unresolved normative themes: unchecked power, distributive injustice, epistemic silencing, hegemonic framing, and the criminalisation of legitimate resistance. Rather than merely critique existing definitions, the research undertakes a normative and legal reconstruction of the concept. It proposes a rights-based, doctrinally precise, and politically contextualised definition of terrorism-one that excludes lawful self-defence, self-determination, and resistance recognised under international law. The proposed definition distinguishes between illegitimate coercion and emancipatory violence, thereby restoring the moral and legal boundaries currently obfuscated by dominant regimes of counterterrorism. In doing so, the research reframes terrorism law as a contested site of power and justice, and reclaims it as an instrument of liberation rather than repression

Harnessing Coconut Shell Carbon Micro Particles For Enhanced Optical Absorbance And Sustainable Energy Storage In Organic Phase Change Materials

Initiation of heat energy absorb, and release depends on the surrounding temperature and phase transition temperature of PCM. Nevertheless, the commonly hindered practical issue of PCMs is poor optical absorbance, fluctuation in energy storage and low thermal conductance. The current research aimed to assess the chemical constancy, improve the optical absorbance, decrease the optical transmittance & to analyse the variation in melting enthalpy of organic PCM functioning at 50 degrees C via dispersion of coconut shell biochar-based carbon micro particles (CSCMPs). The synthesized CSCMPs are dispersed within the PCM matrix at weight fraction of 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8% and 1.0% via meltingblending-sonication process. The developed composite organic PCMs are analysed with a series of material characterization experiments by employing Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy (FTIR), Ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Results ensure, chemical stability, improved optical absorbance by 63.6%, decreased optical transmissibility by 64.3%; and surge in energy storage ability from 158.2 J/g to 190.1 J/g. The findings also provide valuables information towards design and improvement of composite PCM materials for various thermal regulation application from buildings to electronic devices