Green workplace: How culture drives green behavior through engagement and support.

Integrated e-learning is increasingly essential for enhancing higher education globally, yet its implementation in resource-constrained regions such as Southern Africa remains uneven. This study explores the technological, organizational, and environmental factors influencing the integration of e-learning in higher education institutions, using the Technological, Organizational, and Environmental framework. A qualitative phenomenological approach was employed, involving semi-structured interviews with 24 students (12 males and 12 females) from universities in South Africa and Mozambique. Thematic analysis revealed key barriers, including poor connectivity, limited digital literacy, inadequate institutional support, and socio-economic constraints such as power cuts and data costs. Despite these challenges, several enablers emerged, including mobile-friendly platforms, flexible learning policies, peer support networks, and student self-regulation strategies. These findings suggest that successful e-learning implementation requires more than access to technology. This demands institutional commitment, policy coherence, and attention to students’ lived realities. The study underscores the need for a context-sensitive, ecosystemic model that simultaneously addresses infrastructural limitations and promotes adaptive student practices. Such an approach is vital for creating inclusive, effective, and resilient e-learning systems in the Global South.

Beyond the hype: A sociotechnical perspective on AI's potentials and constraints in bridging the gap to basic-needs sustainability in higher education institutions

The Mediating Role of Risk Management in the Relationship between Knowledge Management and the Performance of Egyptian Higher Education Institutions: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

In the context of global digital transformation, open science, and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), cyberspace has emerged as both a catalyst for knowledge innovation and a breeding ground for digital social threats, including misinformation, cyberbullying, online fraud, data privacy violations, and other forms of online social deviance. These challenges have imposed increasing responsibilities on higher education institutions, particularly private universities, to reposition their roles in fostering safe, ethical, and sustainable digital academic ecosystems. This study examines the strategic role of private universities in combating cyber-social deviance through interdisciplinary approaches encompassing digital university governance, open science, digital citizenship education, and knowledge security. The research employs a qualitative methodology integrating policy analysis, international literature review, and comparative approaches to explore governance models, educational mechanisms, and adaptive capacities of private higher education institutions in the era of global digital transformation. The findings indicate that private universities possess significant potential to act as pioneering institutions in promoting digital ethics, strengthening cyber-risk awareness, advancing safe academic cultures, and cultivating responsible digital learning environments. Furthermore, the study proposes an integrated governance framework that combines AI, open science, and digital citizenship education to enhance the effectiveness of cyber-social threat prevention in higher education. The study contributes theoretically and practically by extending scholarly discourse on digital universities, digital social security, and the social responsibility of higher education institutions within the global knowledge society.

There are limited data on food insecurity among college students from different marginalized backgrounds, both in Vermont and other predominantly White spaces, and what their institutions could do to improve food security and other basic needs. Thus, the aims of this study were to 1) examine food insecurity prevalence and its correlates among underrepresented college students, 2) assess their reasons for using campus food pantries and strategies for improving access to culturally appropriate foods on campus, and 3) determine their perspectives regarding how their institutions can address their basic needs. Using a mixed methods cross-sectional research design, a convenience sample of full-time students or trainees ages 18 and older enrolled at four institutions of higher education in Vermont, United States, were recruited through flyers, course announcements, newsletters, listservs, and social media posts. An online survey provided estimates of food insecurity, on-campus food pantry use, and participant perspectives on institutional strategies to address basic needs through open-ended questions. Food insecurity was assessed by the 10-item United States Department of Agriculture food security survey module. Descriptive statistics assessed frequencies and percentages along with means and standard deviations. Binary logistic regression was conducted to estimate the odds of food insecurity. Inductive coding was used to analyze qualitative data and identify emergent themes. Around 40% of all participants experienced food insecurity in the past year, with higher odds observed in students aged ≥ 30, Pell Grant recipients, first-generation students, Black students, and those who used a food pantry. The most cited reason for using a campus food pantry was ease of getting to the pantry while lack of awareness was the most reported barrier. Over 50% of participants recommended gathering feedback from students about their preferences to improve access to culturally appropriate foods. Common themes from qualitative analyses included: food access support, safe and affordable housing access, mental health and healthcare access, financial aid access, reliable and affordable transportation access, non-financial academic support, and general support services. Institutions should prioritize food assistance programs targeting college students and incorporate mental health care, housing support, and financial aid for comprehensive safety nets.

ABSTRACT In the field of higher education, the strong correlation between teacher strategies and student engagement has been widely acknowledged. However, existing research has not yet provided comprehensive and nuanced evidence to fully elucidate the dynamics and complexity of this relationship. To address this gap, this study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining interviews with 30 university teachers and students with a survey of 3,819 undergraduates across four higher education institutions. This study identifies six effective teacher strategies that promote student engagement, namely selecting relevant teaching materials; adopting nontraditional teaching models; designing distributed course assessments; delivering clear expositions of knowledge; promoting meaningful classroom interactions; and attending to students’ learning status and needs. This study reveals that excessive use of technology is the direct cause of the ineffectiveness of teacher strategies (except for attending to students’ learning), while teacher care is a latent factor for sustaining the effectiveness of teaching strategies. As a caring teacher strategy, attending to and responding to students’ learning status and needs not only has a great impact on students’ learning engagement but also enhances the effectiveness of other strategies. These findings underscore the critical importance of instructors actively monitoring students’ learning states and responding promptly and appropriately to their evolving needs within real-world teaching contexts. Moreover, this study not only provides new insights into the relationship between teacher strategies and student engagement but also offers more targeted recommendations for college educators to improve teaching quality in complex educational contexts.

The present study follows the theme of awakening, the meanings and the spirit that the concept gives rise to in a national-religious aspect, preserved and transformed in a territory foreign to our country—the region of Bessarabia. The bearers of the awakening spirit during the Renaissance have been studied based on archival and historiographical documents. These individuals were religious figures, priests, monks, painters, and public figures who studied in spiritual seminaries or academies in our country or abroad. I have also examined their relationship with Bessarabia as a center for a national spiritual movement. The educational, literary, scientific, and missionary activities of the Bulgarian priests in Bessarabia (19th – 20th centuries), the influence of the Orthodox Church among the Bulgarian community formed in the southern territory of today’s Republics of Moldova and Ukraine, and the role of the church and church life in preserving the language of our compatriots in Bessarabia have been examined. Regarding the role of theological schools and seminary education in the past, numerous examples of Bulgarians—significant intellectuals, graduates of theological schools and seminaries, have been studied due to their gaining popularity later for their contributions to the spiritual development of the Bulgarians in Bessarabia, propagating the idea of a national Bulgarian renascence through the study of Bulgarian history and language in Bessarabia. The study is also based on numerous field anthropological studies carried out by the author in Moldova and Bulgaria, revealing the contribution of Bulgarian secondary and higher religious educational institutions today to the return and integration of Bessarabian Bulgarians in their ancestral homeland. Special attention is paid to two contemporary awakeners, Bessarabian Bulgarians from Moldova and graduates of the Sofia Theological Seminary. Particular focus is placed on the missionary and educational activities of priest Vasiliy Shagan in his native land in Moldova, as a revivalist of the literary Bulgarian language, the large-scale spiritual and educational activities that he carried out in the city of Varna, together with the parish he created, and his awakening activity and cooperation with his confreres from southern Bessarabia, after his final settlement in Bulgaria.

This study was grounded on a theoretical framework that integrates Bourdieu's concept of sociocultural capital with Blustein's Relational Theory of Working, which recognizes that social structures and interpersonal connections shape career trajectories. The main objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between students’ sociocultural backgrounds and their career resources, as well as the role of grit in this relationship. To accomplish this, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 2353 Portuguese Higher Education students. Multiple Correspondence Analysis was applied to define students’ sociocultural profiles and structural equation modeling was used to test the research hypothesis. The results evidenced that students’ sociocultural profiles did not present a direct effect on the environment factor of career resources, however an indirect effect — via grit — was found. For the other three career resources (knowledge and skills, motivation, and career management behaviors) students’ sociocultural profiles presented both direct and indirect effects (via grit). This interaction underscores that, while students' backgrounds shape career resources, grit can help bridge disparities. This study expands the existing literature by incorporating the impact of sociocultural factors and grit, advocating for higher education institutions to recognize diverse backgrounds and promote grit-enhancing initiatives. Such an approach could help mitigate socioeconomic disparities in higher education, offering insights into educational policies that foster equitable career development.

The way men are socialised into their masculine roles has been shown to contribute to male-perpetrated sexual violence (SV) against women students in higher education institutions (HEIs). Global North studies further emphasise men's poor mental health and its intersection with the construction of masculinities as one of the risk factors for male-perpetrated SV against women. The purpose of this scoping review is to map out the literature on male college/university students' poor mental health and links to their perpetration of SV against women students in Africa. For this scoping review, we will search for relevant studies from the following electronic databases: Scopus, ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science and CINAHL. Furthermore, we will search for additional studies in Google Scholar and the Directory of Open Access Journals. Additionally, we will search for relevant grey literature. To search for articles in electronic databases, a combination of search techniques will be used, including phrase searching, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), Truncation, Wildcats, Field search, Proximity search, citation chaining and filters. The eligibility of studies for inclusion will be assessed through the population, concept, context (PCC) framework. Using the PCC framework, we will focus on studies which report on the mental health challenges experienced by male students (of any age) and SV perpetrated by male students against women students at HEIs (ie, colleges and universities) in Africa. We will only include peer-reviewed articles and grey literature from Africa published in English between 1995 and 2025. Empirical studies using any methodology, including qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods studies will be included. Once relevant studies have been identified, these will be charted. We will collate and summarise the data according to variation (breadth) and key components (depth), combining quantitative and qualitative syntheses. The findings will provide descriptive insights into the nature of research in this area, together with the drivers of, and linkages between male students' poor mental health and their perpetration of SV. The scoping review will not require ethical approval because we will collate data from published peer-reviewed journal articles and grey literature that are already in the public domain; therefore, no primary data will be collected. The review results will be submitted for publication to an open-access, peer-reviewed journal. The findings will be disseminated on electronic and print platforms. There may also be opportunities to present the findings at conferences and South African government seminars. Open Science Framework, https://doi.org/10.17605/oSF.IO/4KV8R.

This qualitative study explores perceptions of gender equity and leadership in three higher education institutions in Eswatini. The research involved nine senior management members—deans, registrars, and bursars—and eighteen lecturers (nine women and nine men). Employing narrative inquiry, data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and focus groups, capturing rich individual stories and social dynamics. The study explores how gender influences access to leadership roles, the barriers faced, and potential strategies for fostering inclusive environments. Guided by social role theory, the analysis was deductive, examining how cultural norms and stereotypes shape perceptions of leadership and reinforce gender disparities. Women occupy only 22% of senior management roles, while among lecturers, women constitute 50% of the workforce but only 30% of leadership positions, illustrating persistent under-representation. Findings reveal that despite existing policies, cultural norms rooted in hegemonic masculinity continue to impede gender equity, with organisational biases and societal stereotypes maintaining male dominance in leadership. Participants emphasised that policies must be actively enforced, and cultural change initiatives are essential to challenge stereotypes and reshape societal narratives about gender roles. The study underscores the importance of institutional support, mentorship programmes, and visibility initiatives to empower women and promote gender-inclusive leadership. Engaging men as allies is also critical in transforming organisational culture. These findings contribute to advancing understanding of gender dynamics in Eswatini’s higher education sector and highlight the need for comprehensive, context-specific interventions. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated efforts involving policy enforcement, cultural transformation, capacity building, and ongoing evaluation to ensure sustainable progress toward gender equality in academic leadership.

In an era defined by pervasive artificial intelligence (AI), cultivating AI literacy is a fundamental imperative for equitable participation in society. In the Philippines, the gradual adoption of AI in higher education has outpaced institutional management, leaving universities vulnerable to ethical risks and diminished critical thinking. This research addresses a critical gap in comparative empirical data on AI literacy levels among faculty and learners at a private higher education institution in Balingasag. Utilising a quantitative, comparative research design, the study analysed the AI literacy of faculty and first-year students across nine dimensions. Results indicate that students achieve a higher overall literacy level, categorised as "Proficient Engagement" (6.05), compared to teachers, who maintain a "Conceptual Understanding" (4.43). Students excel in persuasion literacy, whereas teachers demonstrate their highest competence in AI ethics. Furthermore, a gap exists between theoretical awareness and practical application for both groups, evidenced by the lowest scores occurring in "Create AI" for students and "Learning with AI" for teachers. The study concludes that differentiated literacy enhancement programs and structured institutional policies are urgently needed to bridge these specific disparities and foster an ethically grounded mastery of AI.

Quality Assurance (QA) in education as a continuous process focused on monitoring, evaluating, and enhancing the quality of teaching, learning, and overall educational outcomes has evolved and became a prominent feature of higher education reforms worldwide. In the Philippines, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order Number 46 series of 2012 defined quality as the continuity and integrity of the learning environment with the vision, purpose and goals of the organization, demonstrated by excellent results in learning and service, as well as the creation of a successful culture. To provide quality education and to address the global concern for excellence in education, the CHED memorandum stated that quality assurance mechanism should be in two components such as the internal and external mechanism. Despite the implementation of quality assurance mechanisms, autonomous higher education institutions were experiencing a myriad of challenges which were affecting the effectiveness of these quality assurance practices. Any Quality Assurance mechanisms, either locally or internationally recognized, that are being utilized and adopted by the autonomous university, may be greatly influenced by the quality assurance practices implemented by the faculty. The roles and functions of the Autonomous University's quality assurance mechanisms may not be well understood by the average faculty member. Teachers' effectiveness was largely dependent on the full usage of quality assurance practices such as capacity building, supervision, physical facilities, and accreditation. Teacher’s involvement and practices in the quality assurance (QA) endeavors of their institutions need to be examined since they were the direct implementer of their QA mechanisms. This study assessed the quality assurance practices of the teachers and the challenges they encountered in the College of Education in the different autonomous universities in the National Capital Region in the Philippines with the goal of crafting a proposed action plan for improvement. Utilizing descriptive-evaluative, comparative, and correlational designs, the study surveyed 505 College of Education faculty members from 26 private autonomous Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the National Capital Region, Data were collected through validated questionnaires and analyzed using statistical tools, including Pearson correlation, at a 0.05 level of significance. Ethical considerations were observed throughout the conduct of the study emphasizing the use of informed consent and confidentiality of responses. The findings revealed that there was a significant difference in the assessment of the respondents on the external quality assurance practices implemented by the College of Education for voluntary accreditation as to "IQuAME" when age (P=0.035), faculty rank (P=0.047), status of employment (P=0.043), and subject taught (P=0.023) were considered, in the assessment of the respondents on the External Quality Assurance practices implemented by the College of Education for voluntary accreditation as to "ISO Certification" when status of employment (P=0.049) and subject taught (P=0.042) were considered. There was a significant relationship between the internal quality assurance practices and challenges encountered by the College of Education (Pearson r of -0.629), with a qualitative description of "moderate negative relationship", which was significant since the computed P-value of 0.000 was less than 0.05 level of significance. Also, the external quality assurance practices and challenges encountered by the College of Education were also significantly correlated with the calculated Pearson r of -0.729, p < 0.05. The Quality Assurance practices of faculty members positively influence the quality of teaching, learning, and overall educational outcomes. Hence, school administrators are encouraged to provide relevant trainings and other workshops pertaining to Quality Assurance Management alongside training in Digital Technology and Information Systems Management, including the proper allocation of sufficient financial support for their faculty members who would like to enroll in the doctoral program. The study proposes an action plan delving on the following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that could be utilized to monitor any intervening discrepancies or non -compliance to Quality Assurance Protocols via: a) determination of the actual percentage reduction in non-conformances or defects, b) identification of staff quality assurance training completion rate, c) performance of regular audit compliance score improvement schemes, d) regular monitoring of the customer/stakeholder satisfaction ratings, and e) strict adherence and compliance to turnaround time for corrective actions.

Purpose: This study examines management competencies, career attitudes, leadership preferences, and long-term life purpose orientations among Generation Z students in the Indian higher education context. It also explores whether demographic factors influence these dimensions and whether they are interrelated. Methodology: A quantitative and exploratory research design was adopted. Data were collected through a structured online questionnaire from 478 students enrolled in intermediate, undergraduate, and postgraduate programs across India. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA and Chi-square tests were used for data analysis. Findings: The results indicate that Generation Z students report generally high levels of management competencies, particularly in time management and coordination, while adaptability and balancing personal and academic responsibilities were comparatively lower. Selected career attitudes including work–life balance, financial independence, and career stability, differed significantly across schooling background. Family income and academic stream influenced specific management competencies and career attitudes. In terms of leadership, students showed a strong preference for transformational, servant, and autonomy-supportive leadership styles, whereas authoritarian leadership was least preferred. Leadership preferences were largely consistent across demographic groups; however, long-term life purpose orientations varied significantly with family income, highlighting the role of socio-economic background in shaping students aspirations. Practical Implications: The findings suggest that higher education institutions should place greater emphasis on developing adaptability, work–life balance skills, and collaborative competencies, while also considering students’ diverse socio-economic backgrounds in employability and leadership development initiatives. Originality: The study offers a student-centric and context-sensitive perspective by integrating management competencies, career attitudes, and leadership preferences within a single framework in the Indian higher education context.

ABSTRACT Introduction Substance use among university students poses a significant public health challenge, leading to negative health outcomes and impaired academic performance. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions, particularly SMS-based psychoeducational messaging, offer a promising strategy for addressing this issue. However, the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of such interventions within this population remain underexplored. Methods This quasi-experimental study recruited 140 substance-using students from a higher education institution using respondent-driven sampling (RDS). Participants were assigned to an intervention group (n = 70), which received a three-month mobile health cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)-informed psychoeducational text messaging program, or a control group (n = 70) that received no intervention. Results Findings indicated that the mHealth intervention was well-received across key implementation metrics. The Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM) averaged 4.2 (SD = 0.6), demonstrating strong approval. The Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM) scored 4.0 (SD = 0.7), reflecting perceived relevance to substance use issues. Feasibility was also rated positively, with a Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM) mean of 3.8 (SD = 0.8), indicating practicality in participants’ daily lives. Conclusions This study suggests that a low-cost, SMS-based psychoeducational intervention is acceptable, appropriate, and feasible for university students. These findings support scaling such interventions to reduce substance use and promote healthier academic environments.

ABSTRACT To investigate success rates for applications to job vacancies at a United Kingdom Higher Education Institution (HEI) and whether applicants’ ethnicity affected their chances of being shortlisted and/or offered a position. Statistical testing of 46,738 applications over a 7-year period (Sep 2016 to Aug 2023) was used to determine whether there was a significant relationship between success at different stages of the application process and applicant ethnicity. Overall, ethnicity appears to negatively affect success at each of the two stages of the application process. Furthermore, lower success rates for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) applicants are present for both Academic and Professional Services recruitment vacancies when analysed separately, with a stronger association for the former.

ABSTRACT This article argues that Chinese higher-education institutions do not simply stage The Taming of the Shrew; they mediate it through the official public texts that frame rehearsal and performance. Drawing on six official public-facing texts linked to productions at Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai University, Southern University of Science and Technology, and the Central Academy of Drama, we analyse festival reports, lecture announcements, preview reports, production summaries, adaptation framing, and post-show explanation as public traces of rehearsal: institutional interfaces that render theatrical process publicly legible without offering transparent access to it. Across these cases, Shrew is repeatedly reorganised around female speech, wedding spectacle, domestic discipline, and the afterlife of Katherina’s final speech. We argue that these materials reveal a recurring pattern of institutional hesitation: a rhetoric that preserves Shakespearean prestige while qualifying, delaying, or estranging comic closure through euphemism, expert mediation, tragic-satiric reframing, and strategic disavowal. Read this way, Chinese higher-education Shrews emerge as sites where performance criticism, public pedagogy, and Asian Shakespeare converge.

The Integrity Risk Indicators by SCImago (IRIS) framework, developed by the SCImago Research Group, addresses growing concerns about trust in science by shifting research assessment from traditional output and citation-based measures toward the evaluation of institutional exposure to research integrity risks. Rather than focusing on individual misconduct, IRIS recognizes the central role of institutional incentive systems, governance structures, and operational cultures in shaping research integrity. IRIS provides a constructive, data-informed model for identifying structural vulnerabilities associated with practices such as authorship and affiliation patterns, dissemination and citation dynamics, publication venue credibility, and the sustainability and transparency of publication practices. The indicators are derived from bibliometric and publication data and are intended as signals of potential risk, not as diagnoses or judgments. Applied to Higher Education Institutions included in the SCImago Institutions Rankings, IRIS enables meaningful comparison through z-score normalization, placing heterogeneous indicators on a common, interpretable scale centered on the global mean. The use of standardized scores enhances sensitivity to the magnitude of deviations, allowing IRIS to better function as a risk detection system, rather than a competitive ranking, and to support institutions in strengthening responsible and trustworthy research environments.

This study assessed the challenges and opportunities in implementing the Quality Assurance Management System (QAMS) among faculty and staff of Camiguin Polytechnic State College (CPSC). A quantitative descriptive–correlational research design, supplemented by semi-structured interviews, was employed. Data were collected from 130 faculty and staff respondents through complete enumeration. Descriptive statistics, Spearman rank-order correlation, and non-parametric tests were used for data analysis. Findings revealed that the extent of challenges encountered was great (𝑀 = 3.52, SD = 0.68), with the most pressing concerns being the lack of modern equipment and technology (𝑀 = 3.64), limited annual budget (𝑀 = 3.62), and inadequate infrastructure and facilities (𝑀 = 3.58). Despite these challenges, respondents also reported a great extent of opportunities in QAMS implementation (𝑀 = 3.41, SD = 0.63), particularly in increased government support (𝑀 = 3.48), community extension engagement (𝑀 = 3.43), and strengthened industry collaboration (𝑀 = 3.42). Spearman correlation analysis indicated a weak but statistically significant positive relationship between challenges and opportunities (rₛ = 0.247, p = 0.005). Moreover, no significant differences were found in the extent of challenges encountered when respondents were grouped according to sex, age, years of service, educational attainment, and designation (p > 0.05). The results suggest that although resource-related challenges constrain QAMS implementation at CPSC, these same conditions generate opportunities for institutional improvement and innovation. An action plan is therefore proposed to strengthen resource mobilization, faculty development, infrastructure enhancement, and stakeholder collaboration to sustain effective QAMS implementation in state higher education institutions.

ABSTRACT This study examines the use of social networks as a digital marketing and communication tool by Spanish higher education institutions, focusing on differences between public and private universities. Specifically, we have three objectives: (1) Identify differences between Public and Private university users with respect to how they use social media and how successful they have been using this platform; (2) Understand the relationship between the number of students enrolled at each university and how social network sites perform based upon the ownership of the institution (Public vs. Private); (3) Determine whether publication frequency is associated with social media performance differently in public and private institutions. To accomplish these objectives, a quantitative, descriptive-correlational approach was used to look at the entire population of Spanish universities (total n = 86; 58% Public, 42% Private). Data were collected from official university Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), and YouTube accounts for a continuous 13-week period, along with official statistics regarding the number of students enrolled in their respective institutions. Results show that public universities demonstrate stronger social media performance when absolute indicators are considered, including followers, publications, and user interactions across most platforms. However, when these indicators are adjusted for student population size, private universities consistently outperform public institutions. Therefore, private universities employ more effective social media strategies than public ones, particularly on Instagram. The research contributes to the literature by correcting for institutional size bias and offers practical implications for university managers seeking to optimize digital marketing strategies.