Adaptation Strategies, Practices and Challenges of Afghans in Iran and the Role of Digital Interaction

In popular dialogues, describing a system as "complex" is often the point of resignation, inferring that the system cannot be sufficiently described, predicted nor managed. Transport networks, management infrastructure and supply chain logistics are all often described in this way. Academic dialogues have begun to explore the collective behaviors of complex systems to define a complex system specifically as an adaptive one; i.e. a system that demonstrates 'self organising' principles and 'emergent' properties. Based upon the key principles of interaction and emergence in relation to adaptive and self organising systems in cultural artifacts and processes, this paper will argue that complex systems are cultural systems. By introducing generic principles of complex systems, and looking at the exploration of such principles in art, design and media research, this paper argues that a science of cultural systems as part of complex systems theory is the post modern science for the digital age. Furthermore, that such a science was predicated by post structuralism and has been manifest in art, design and media practice since the late 1960s.

In 2020, approximately 281 million people lived in a country other than their country of birth. In Geneva, Switzerland, people born in other countries constitute 40.2% of the population. We aimed to describe the population of pregnant women delivering at the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) maternity department and to identify associations between legal status, migration status, and economic precarity with quality care and health outcomes. We performed an exploratory cross-sectional retrospective study including all women who delivered in HUG’s maternity department in May 2019 (n=339). The group was sub-divided in three ways: by migration status (Swiss (S) or migrant (M)); by legal status (documented (D), undocumented (U), or asylum seeker (AS)); and economic precariousness (precarious (P) or non-precarious (NP)). The analysis compared the quality of care received and health outcomes across six sub-groups: Swiss non-precarious women (SNP, 25.3%), Swiss precarious women (SP, 12.2%), documented migrant non-precarious women (DMNP, 34.8%), documented migrant precarious women (DMP, 23.3%), undocumented migrants (UM, 2.4%), and asylum seekers (AS, 2.0%). Precarious patients represented 35.5% of 339 women. Economic precarity was more highly associated with poor health outcomes than legal or migration status. Due to the small samples of undocumented migrants (UM) and asylum seekers (AS), the study had limited capacity to achieve statistical significance for findings. The findings from this exploratory study suggest that, where a program exists to reach pregnant undocumented migrants, a pregnant woman’s economic status is also very important in determining her experience with the healthcare system during pregnancy and delivery. More than one third of pregnant women delivering at HUG are in a situation of vulnerability, whether economic or legal. This study had few statistically significant results due to small sample sizes. However, it clearly highlights the need for further research into how best to address various vulnerability factors during pregnancy.

In 2020, approximately 281 million people lived in a country other than their country of birth. In Geneva, Switzerland, people born in other countries constitute 40.2% of the population. We aimed to describe the population of pregnant women delivering at the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) maternity department and to identify associations between legal status, migration status, and economic precarity with quality care and health outcomes. We performed an exploratory cross-sectional retrospective study including all women who delivered in HUG's maternity department in May 2019 (n=339). The group was sub-divided in three ways: by migration status (Swiss (S) or migrant (M)); by legal status (documented (D), undocumented (U), or asylum seeker (AS)); and economic precariousness (precarious (P) or non-precarious (NP)). The analysis compared the quality of care received and health outcomes across six sub-groups: Swiss non-precarious women (SNP, 25.3%), Swiss precarious women (SP, 12.2%), documented migrant non-precarious women (DMNP, 34.8%), documented migrant precarious women (DMP, 23.3%), undocumented migrants (UM, 2.4%), and asylum seekers (AS, 2.0%). Precarious patients represented 35.5% of 339 women. Economic precarity was more highly associated with poor health outcomes than legal or migration status. Due to the small samples of undocumented migrants (UM) and asylum seekers (AS), the study had limited capacity to achieve statistical significance for findings. The findings from this exploratory study suggest that, where a program exists to reach pregnant undocumented migrants, a pregnant woman's economic status is also very important in determining her experience with the healthcare system during pregnancy and delivery. More than one third of pregnant women delivering at HUG are in a situation of vulnerability, whether economic or legal. This study had few statistically significant results due to small sample sizes. However, it clearly highlights the need for further research into how best to address various vulnerability factors during pregnancy.

In this thematic issue of <em>Media and Communication</em> titled Practices of Digital In- and Exclusion in Everyday Life, we bring together insights from around the world to offer a diverse set of perspectives on digital practices and digital literacies across the lifespan. Moreover, emphasizing the development of digital literacies as a situated social practice, this thematic issue provides insights into the social contexts through which people develop digital literacy practices, how they construct and integrate social norms around technologies, and the links between digital literacies and (digital) citizenship. As concerns about digital in- and exclusion grow, this thematic issue hosts numerous relevant studies by academics that collectively help us gain insight into the impact of digital in- and exclusion in everyday life across the lifespan, gaining insight into the role of different contextual factors, including time, place, and social, economic, and political contexts in the ways in which citizens use digital media and develop digital literacies.

Agency in Adaptation

Using nationally representative survey data, this research note examines the association between immigrant legal status and poverty in the United States. Our objective is to test whether estimates of this association vary depending on the method used to infer legal status in survey data, focusing on two approaches in particular: (1) inferring legal status using a logical imputation method that ignores the existence of legal-status survey questions (logical approach); and (2) defining legal status based on survey questions about legal status (survey approach). We show that the two methods yield contrasting conclusions. In models using the logical approach, among noncitizens, being a legal permanent resident (LPR) is counterintuitively associated with a significantly greater net probability of being below the poverty line compared with their noncitizen peers without LPR status. Conversely, using the survey approach to measure legal status, LPR status is associated with a lower net probability of living in poverty, which is in line with a growing body of qualitative and small-sample evidence. Consistent with simulation experiments carried out by Van Hook et al. (2015), the findings call for a more cautious approach to interpreting research results based on legal status imputations and for greater attention to potential biases introduced by various methodological approaches to inferring individuals' legal status in survey data. Consequently, the approach used for measuring legal status has important implications for future research on immigration and legal status.

Purpose: The rapid adoption of AI-powered recruitment in emerging economies often occurs within contexts of institutional weakness and economic precarity, challenging Western-centric assumptions about algorithmic fairness. This study investigates how perceptions of algorithmic justice and platform transparency influence candidate trust and well-being in Tunisia, and whether chronic economic insecurity attenuates these psychological pathways. Design/Methodology/Approach: Drawing on Algorithmic Justice Theory (Colquitt, 2001) and the Job Demands– Resources (JD-R) model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2017), we propose a moderated mediation framework. We theorize economic precarity as a chronic demand that depletes the psychological resources necessary to benefit from fair algorithmic treatment. The model is tested using survey data from 420 Tunisian job candidates, with contextual insights from 85 HR professionals. Findings: Algorithmic justice (β = .24, p < .001) and transparency (β = .28, p < .001) enhance well-being indirectly through trust. However, economic precarity significantly weakens the trust–well-being relationship (Δβ = –.21, p < .001). Algorithmic opacity directly reduces well-being (β = –.26, p < .001). Graduates from non-elite institutions face a 2.4× higher risk of algorithmic misrecognition, indicating a digital reproduction of social stratification. Practical implications: For AI ethics to be meaningful in contexts like Tunisia, technical fairness must be coupled with structural economic security. We provide actionable recommendations for localized bias audits, enhanced transparency protocols, and contextsensitive policymaking. Originality/Value: This is the first empirical study to situate AI recruitment ethics within the institutional voids and economic precarity of a post-revolution North African economy. It demonstrates that justice perceptions are not universally beneficial but are contingent on macroeconomic stability, advancing a context-sensitive framework for ethical AI adoption in the Global South.

Introduction & BackgroundDespite existing research evidence for the negative influence of loneliness on people’s wellbeing, most studies focus on the experiences of older adults and the student population. Moreover, research concerning loneliness and digital footprints uses demographic proxies, as opposed to a behavioural focus, thus providing an incomplete representation of the phenomenon’s influence on the general population. Objectives & ApproachThis project aims to use people’s digital social media data (shared by the participants from their Facebook, Twitter, or Reddit accounts) to address people’s experiences of loneliness in order to provide guidance for the design of interventions catering to the improvement of the wellbeing of individuals. Screening the participants for loneliness levels using the UCLA Loneliness Scale and looking how these experiences differ cross-sectionally (25-65-year-olds; minorities) will help understand the following: social network structures, as shaped by loneliness experience; the dynamics within one’s social network; and the linguistic content of the relationships. Using digital footprints for language modelling and thematic analysis of digital language data shared by the participants, in addition to social network analysis (mapped out based on the individuals’ digital interactions) will allow insight into digital wellbeing. A traditional approach will be utilised alongside digital data analysis to address the issue of limited social media data representativeness - relationships formed in non-digital settings, along with the associated loneliness experiences, will be included. In addition to sharing their digital footprints, the participants will be surveyed and interviewed about their everyday offline and digital experiences of loneliness; as well as their social network structures and dynamics. The interview and survey data will be analysed using thematic analysis of text data and predictive models of quantitative survey responses; in addition to social network analysis of the relationships listed during the interview. Predictions of loneliness outcomes in relation to people’s digital and offline behaviour; and correlations between loneliness experiences and social network dynamics will be made from the data. Relevance to Digital FootprintsThe project focuses on people’s experiences of loneliness in both digital and offline settings utilising the analysis of digital footprints from social media and traditional survey- and interview-based methodology. This approach will allow to gain insight into the similarities and differences between social network structures and dynamics as well as loneliness experiences in digital and real-world relationships as these inevitably interplay in everyday life. The inclusion of digital footprints data will allow to measure and predict loneliness impact on mental health and digital social behaviour; and design tailored digital wellbeing interventions in the future. Conclusions & ImplicationsThe results will serve as basis for designing innovative loneliness interventions for both the public and counsellors to offer tailored wellbeing support. Additionally, the project aims to promote loneliness awareness. Incorporating a variety of experiences from different social groups will enable inclusive, user-centred approach.

Purpose: In a world that increasingly revolves around technology and digital interactions, businesses strive to provide engaging and personalized experiences to their customers. In the realm of banking, this endeavor has given rise to the incorporation of gamification techniques to enhance customer engagement and satisfaction. Gamification, the utilization of game plan standards and mechanics in non-game settings, has arisen as a useful asset in various industries, including digital banking. This article explores the influence of gamification on customer experience in the domain of digital banking practices. The researcher has chosen the topic "The Influence of Gamification on Customer Experience in Digital Banking Practices" to examine how gamification strategies, including badges, points, leaderboards, rewards, progress bars, trivia, opinion polls, and mini-games, are enhancing the competitive edge of private sector banks in Kerala. Design: In this study, a combination of descriptive and analytical research designs was utilized. Primary data and demographic information were gathered through the administration of a standardized questionnaire to a sample of 150 bank customers. To validate the study and ensure its reliability, a preliminary survey was undertaken, and the Cronbach's Alpha test was used to evaluate the metrics of the study. The amassed data underwent analysis through techniques such as correlation, multiple regression, and tests for multicollinearity to understand the intrinsic relationships and determinants in the research. Findings/Results: This research offers concrete empirical proof highlighting the profound impact of gamification on the customer experience in digital banking, particularly within the private sector. The study's outcomes reveal that the chosen independent factors, namely badges, points, leaderboards, rewards, progress bars, trivia, opinion polls, and mini-games, collectively play a significant role (accounting for 54% of the variance) in predicting customer experience. Paper Type: Descriptive and Analytical Research

This production-based ethnographic study investigates citizen participation and news-making practices at the Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) group in Zimbabwe. The focus is on the participation of ordinary citizens in previously closed journalistic processes and their everyday news-making practices at a professional news outlet. The study is anchored on the concepts of citizen participation and news-making practices. Data were collected through field observations and interviews in 2018. The findings reveal that citizen participation in news production processes at the AMH group was enabled by digital technologies and organisational policies. However, there were several contextual factors, such as the gendered digital divide, that limited the potential for citizen participation in journalism. Citizen participation was convenient for the AMH group because it tapped into the free labour of citizen journalists in reporting hyperlocal news and in crowdsourcing for news materials, thereby cutting financial costs of hiring correspondents and maintaining bureau offices. The AMH group shifted from traditional to audience-centric news-making practices that relied on digital technologies to put ordinary citizens at the centre of the news-making through structured, unstructured, hybrid and digital practices. This is a de-Westernised contribution to contemporary debates in journalism studies about citizen participation and digital news production practices.

Recent developments in sociolinguistics and applied linguistics bring with them a need for methodological innovation in the study of multilingual communication in the online/offline nexus. As a response to this, our paper reports from a research project on migrants’ digital interaction to consider how mediagrams can be used for collaborative research in multilingual workplaces and schools. A mediagram is a visual tool used for collaborative data collection and analysis to capture one individual’s digital interaction, and to visualise, in a comprehensible manner, linguistic, digital, and modal resources used by this individual with specific interlocutors. The aim of this paper is to examine how mediagrams can be used to increase the participatory dimension of the sociolinguistic research processes, focusing on biographical dimensions and digital practices. For this purpose, we describe two distinct applications of mediagrams. First, a study of labour migrants’ digitally mediated workplace communication, and second, a study of parent-teacher communication. We discuss these two applications, considering participatory approaches in sociolinguistics and applied linguistics, focusing on participants’ conceptions and participation and mediagrams’ methodological potential in post-digital contexts.

Digital punctuation as an interactional resource: the message-final period among German adolescents

Drawing from Erving Goffman's seminal work on face-to-face interaction, this article introduces the concepts of digital face-work and the digital interaction order to make sense of digital interaction. The theoretical framework emphasizes the sociotechnical aspects of face-work, portraying digital platforms not merely as spaces for interaction but as active participants co-shaping users’ face-work. Focusing on the political arena, the study examines how politicians use digital platforms to construct and maintain their digital face in relation to ‘small scandals’. Through a case study of Flemish nationalist politician, Theo Francken, trying to save face after a scandal erupted, it illustrates the complexities of digital face-work in a hybrid media system. The article underscores the challenges of managing face in the digital landscape, where context collapse and platform directives complicate self-presentation strategies. It also explores the interplay between individual agency and platform dynamics in shaping the digital interaction order. (Digital face, digital interaction order, political scandals, small scandals)

Introduction: In this study, we aimed to explore how Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in post-disaster Palu, Indonesia, manage their sexual identities under religious conservatism, patriarchal norms, and heightened moral surveillance following the 2018 earthquake. Within this religiously conservative and disaster-affected context, our objective was to understand how MSM employ impression-management strategies to navigate visibility, stigma, and safety, and to analyze their implications for mental health, healthcare-seeking behavior, and overall well-being. This study addresses gaps in the literature by situating MSM experiences within Indonesia’s sociocultural and religious frameworks, thereby contributing to regional and cross-cultural analyses of LGBTQ+ identity negotiation in Southeast Asia. Methods: This qualitative phenomenological study employed in-depth interviews, photo-elicitation, and digital ethnographic observation over six months in Palu. A total of twenty-five MSM participants aged 18–40 were purposively recruited to ensure diversity of experience and social background. Sampling continued until thematic saturation was reached, meaning no new themes emerged during ongoing analysis. Data collection included semi-structured interviews and analysis of interactions on online platforms (e.g., Telegram, BlueD, and Instagram). Visual materials contributed to the coding framework by illustrating non-verbal expressions of impression management, later integrated into thematic synthesis. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Muhammadiyah Palu, following the British Psychological Society (BPS) and American Anthropological Association (AAA) ethical codes. Participants provided verbal and written informed consent, and all identifying details were anonymized. Results: The primary outcome of the study was an understanding of how MSM in Palu adaptively navigate identity, stigma, and safety through impression management. Key findings revealed that MSM maintain dual personas—performing heteronormativity in public (front-stage) while expressing their authentic identities within digital backstage spaces. Selective disclosure of sexual orientation was governed by contextual trust, relational safety, and fear of institutional stigma. Digital platforms functioned as crucial psychosocial and health-navigation spaces, enabling solidarity and access to information. However, overreliance on digital interactions sometimes intensified isolation and reproduced inequalities linked to digital literacy and class. While these adaptive strategies ensure survival under moral surveillance, they inadvertently reinforce structural stigma by normalizing concealment and restricting public visibility. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study contributes to understanding how Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in Palu construct survival and well-being through impression management under conditions of religious-patriarchal stigma and disaster-induced moral tightening. It illustrates that dual personas, selective disclosure, and digital backstage practices function both as protection and as mechanisms that perpetuate invisibility. These findings inform the design of culturally sensitive, confidentiality-centered health interventions, emphasizing peer navigation, digital outreach, and faith-inclusive stigma reduction. Future studies should investigate the long-term mental health impacts of sustained concealment and digital dependency, advancing inclusive policies and provider training across Indonesia’s public health systems and the broader Southeast Asian region.

A robust body of political science literature demonstrates a strong correlation between economic precarity and support for extremist, populist, and authoritarian politics. However, the precise psychological and biological mechanisms driving this link remain undertheorized. This paper bridges this gap by proposing a novel explanatory framework grounded in neuroscience: the Cognitive Overload Model of Political Extremism. We argue that chronic stress—originating from sources including, but not limited to, economic insecurity—functions as a significant cognitive load, impairing the executive functions of the prefrontal cortex while amplifying the threat-response activity of the amygdala. This neurological shift creates a powerful, biologically-driven bias toward simplistic, low-effort, and high-reward ideologies.Crucially, this paper argues that the manifestation of this neurobiological vulnerability is not deterministic. It is heavily moderated by an individual's informational environment and social context. We further posit that ideology is not merely an outcome but part of a dynamic feedback loop with social pressures. After synthesizing the existing empirical data and detailing the core neurobiological model, this paper explores these complexities to account for phenomena such as the affluent extremist and the resilient poor. We conclude by outlining a next-generation research program designed to test this more nuanced, interactive model, offering a clear path forward for a new agenda in political psychology and neuro-politics.Keywords: Political Polarization, Neuro-politics, Cognitive Overload, Economic Precarity, Political Psychology, Stress, Authoritarianism, Populism, Social Media.