Abstract: The rise of the collaborative economy has transformed global tourism through peer-to-peer platforms such as Airbnb, enabling alternative lodging options and reshaping traditional hospitality models. This study examines the phenomenon of diffuse guest accommodations in Old Cairo, a historic neighborhood characterized by rich architectural heritage and cultural traditions, where private homes are informally used to host visitors without regulatory oversight. The research aims to assess the socio-economic and cultural implications of Airbnb-driven practices, exploring stakeholder perspectives, including residents, visitors, professionals, scholars, and government officials—on their potential for sustainable tourism development. Using qualitative methods, the study analyzes community attitudes toward strengths such as economic opportunities and cultural exchange, alongside perceived threats including heritage degradation and lack of governance. Findings reveal broad support for integrating these practices into formal tourism frameworks, recommending the introduction of a new sub-classification under the Egyptian Tourism Federation and Ministry of Tourism. The study concludes that collaborative micro-economic systems, if strategically managed, can foster sustainable tourism while preserving cultural identity in historic urban contexts.

Abstract: Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a cornerstone of national identity, driving economic development and social cohesion globally. Yangliuqing New Year Woodblock Paintings, a representative Chinese national ICH, face development bottlenecks due to insufficient internal innovation and ineffective external interventions, with existing research lacking holistic analysis of its historical evolution and contemporary challenges. This study aims to establish a dynamic framework for its innovative development. It first identifies cultural ecological factors via representative case analysis, then employs an integrated EWM-DEMATEL-ISM model to quantify these factors, determine their core components, and map their influence relationships. The results reveal that technical factors, cultural merit, and resource factors constitute the core cultural ecology of Yangliuqing New Year Paintings, with cultural merit as the deep-layer cultural gene, technical factors as the intermediate maintenance force, and resource factors as the surface-level interface. Three feasible innovative development paths are proposed, centered on activating cultural merit, upgrading technical factors, and optimizing resource allocation. This research provides a new analytical perspective for Yangliuqing New Year Paintings and offers insights for the sustainable development of other ICH categories by integrating historical context with future-oriented strategies.

Abstract: The city of Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo, faces multiple urban mobility challenges. Already confronted with major socio-economic issues, it must cope with rapid population growth, accelerated and unplanned urbanization, and signifi cant defi cienciesin transport infrastructure. Approximately 70% of the population lives in precarious conditions, severely limiting access to reliable transport services. Furthermore, due to its hilly terrain, the city is strongly affected by climate-related disruptions, which negatively impact transport networks and increase user costs. These factors exacerbate economic vulnerability related to mobility and strain household budgets. This study adopts a quantitative, predictive approach to better understand and anticipate household vulnerability in daily mobility, contributing to more inclusive public policy development. The analysis relies on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to identify key determinants, followed by clustering to segment households according to their vulnerability level. Finally, three predictive models were compared. Cluster analysis revealed three distinct vulnerability profi les, highlighting marked socio-economic stratifi cation. The most disadvantaged households, representing 73% of the sample, are the most exposed, with budget shares reaching up to 50% of income. Conversely, affl uent and middle-class households enjoy better mobility conditions but remain sensitive to economic and climate shocks. These fi ndings underscore the need to integrate spatial and economic inequalities into local public policy planning. Among the tested models, logistic regression stood out for its accuracy and its ability to identify vulnerable households with perfect recall.

Abstract: Advanced Design, as a discipline focused on exploring future opportunities, has the potential to significantly enhance New Product Development, understood as the process of designing and introducing new products to the market. However, organizations such as COTECMAR -the Science and Technology Corporation for the Development of the Naval, Maritime, and Riverine Industry, a mixed public and private organization- despite their extensive experience and capabilities in New Product Development, have traditionally concentrated their design efforts on addressing immediate and operational challenges. While the automotive industry has long employed concept cars to anticipate future scenarios, this practice has not been widely adopted within the shipbuilding sector, and even less so in Colombia. Within this context, an opportunity emerged to develop vision concepts - analogous to concept cars but applicable across industries -to explore potential future pathways for COTECMAR in Colombia’s Pacific Region. Through the application of DIVE, an Advanced Design technique, this research project explored and articulated ten diverse vision concepts. These range from an amphibious boat operating in conjunction with a health center built on stilts to improve access to quality visual healthcare services, to integrated tourism mobility systems composed of small yacht cruises, floating stations, and collectible tickets that connect travelers and local communities with the region’s natural and cultural assets. Across these explorations, it became evident that Advanced Design holds substantial potential to strengthen COTECMAR’s New Product Development processes. It can unlock new creative opportunities by expanding the Corporation’s product portfolio, fostering the adoption of a product–service systems approach, and enabling engagement with a broader and more diverse set of target markets.

Abstract: This study develops an innovative method for the attribution and visual reconstruction of hand-woven fabrics using artificial intelligence, employing Chinese Hong'an Homespun as a case study. The paper proposes a comprehensive algorithm integrating microscopic analysis, physical micro-model creation, and bimodal prompt engineering. The semantic differential method with a five-point scale was applied for objective evaluation of visual replica of historical fabrics. Comparative testing of AI models (Midjourney, ChatGPT, Qwen3, DouBaoAI, HailuoAI) revealed significant differences in their ability to reproduce characteristic features of hand weaving. The results demonstrate the superiority of detailed prompts with precise quantitative parameters and confirm the effectiveness of micro-models as visual anchors. The research establishes new standards in the digital documentation of cultural heritage and opens prospects for preserving traditional textile techniques. The most successful AI are Midjourney and ChatGPT have achieved an average score of 0.88 on the semantic scale, confirming the practical applicability of the method.

Abstract: Recent conflicts indicate a structural inversion in the economics of warfare. The exposed human warfighter, requiring prolonged training, continuous sustainment, and high replacement cost, now operates at a growing disadvantage relative to low cost, rapidly replaceable machine systems. This paper argues that modern warfare is increasingly governed not by individual skill or platform sophistication, but by logistics, replacement speed, and cost asymmetry under sustained attrition. Using attrition economics and battlefield evidence from the ongoing war in Ukraine, the analysis demonstrates that humans are being displaced from exposed combat roles not primarily by ethical preference, policy choice, or doctrinal failure, but by binding logistical and regeneration constraints. As low cost systems absorb risk at scale, the human role shifts away from the highest-attrition layer toward remote command, supervision, and coordination, while machines assume primacy at the point of contact. This transition is observable in current conflicts and reflects a reversal in the cost structure that has historically defined military effectiveness, rendering the exposed human warfighter economically non-viable under sustained attrition.

Abstract: Cybersecurity assurance drifts under change. Tooling updates, policy revisions, monitoring redesigns, and AI-enabled automation can silently change what is measured, how it is measured, and which differences are treated as “the same,” while human workflows adapt under staffing constraints, alert fatigue, incentives, and competing priorities. We introduce a human-centred, proof-carrying approach to security assurance: a certificate layer that freezes one operational record—system boundary, defect definitions, risk scoring ruler, neutrality conventions, audit window, upgrade path, and observation interfaces—so that “improvement under upgrades” has a precise and checkable meaning. Over time, the method combines multiple interacting risk channels into a single decision-ready assurance summary with an explicit improvement margin and an explicit disturbance allowance, designed to remain interpretable during incidents and operational spikes. Across versions and refinements, it enforces a vertical-coherence requirement: upgrade effects must have a finite total footprint so that claims do not drift without bound as systems evolve. We package the framework as four auditable obligations—controlling semantic and policy drift, maintaining a uniform improvement claim, ensuring upgrade coherence, and transporting guarantees to observable evidence—and prove a Master Certificate showing that passing these checks yields version-stable, mechanically verifiable assurance envelopes on the declared episode window. The resulting rates, budgets, and slack are human-centred objects: decision-ready summaries, governance-grade non-regression guarantees, and feasibility diagnostics under organisational constraints.

Abstract: This study presents reflections from the Introduction to Sustainable Business course. Thirty-five students from various courses of the Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, participated in this course for this semester. The course applied a service-learning pedagogical method to link lecture theory with real-world practice. Data were collected based on student reflections using both qualitative methods. Embedding the service-learning model in business courses focusing on sustainability is the first in the local context and is an interactive transformational innovation in education. Data were analyzed using WebQDA software to interpret the textual data. Based on the reflection, it was proven that this course has improved the students’ professional and personal development. This study is significant for enhancing education through service-learning. The findings also reveal gaps in soft skills like communication and teamwork, guiding educators on necessary improvements. Additionally, students showed positive attitudes toward community engagement, underscoring the role of service-learning in fostering social responsibility. This study underscores the potential of service-learning as an innovative approach to higher education, offering a replicable framework for promoting transformative learning and preparing graduates for the demands of sustainable business practice.

Abstract: Contemporary global crises reveal the limitations of classical civilization theories that privilege single causal dimensions such as economic growth, military power, or cultural ethos. Drawing on recent scholarship in complexity science, global political theory, and civilizational studies, this article proposes a multi-layer systems framework that reconceptualizes civilizations as complex, adaptive, and emergent living systems. Through the interplay of material, cognitive, spiritual-ethical, ecological, and technological layers, civilizations exhibit civilizational intelligence—an emergent capacity for integrative foresight, ethical governance, and adaptive resilience. Unlike deterministic or power-centric models, this framework explains both continuity and breakdown across civilizations while providing prescriptive insights for sustainable and pluriversal futures. Comparative examples and recent empirical research illustrate how inter-layer coherence fosters resilience, whereas misalignment leads to systemic fragility, offering a paradigmatic platform for new civilizational science.

Abstract: As learning settings become more intermediated by algorithm-based platform, a new “invisible curriculum” takes shape that organizes the cognitive and affective substrates of Generation Z. This paper examines the way in which the embedded logic of these platforms (that is, the way they are designed to be quantified, to predictively recommend, and to engage) shapes attention, motivation and psychosocial well-being. Drawing on educational psychology and platform studies, we apply a mixed-method approach that combines critical architectural analysis, survey data (n=XXX), and semi-structured interviews (n=XX), with interpretation through the conceptual perspectives of attentional economics and digital nudge theory. Results suggest that algorithmic curation sustains short-cycle attention and prioritises fast interaction over slow consumption, cultivating motivational states that are attentive to notifications and micro-feedback loops. Adaptive elements can tailor learning experiences, but also promote compulsive checking, emotional volatility, and a decrease in intrinsic motivation for lengthy undertakings underscoring a fundamental tension between platform effectiveness and cognitive health. They go on to say that “platform logics” infuse educational institutions as a force that impacts them systemically. The talk will make the case for, and present specific design principles and policy mechanisms for, healthier, learner-centred digital ecosystems that re-enable agency of the algorithmic learner.

Abstract: This article argues that the universe develops through a sequence of stages that move far beyond humanity. The five stages are structure, biology, intelligent biology, synthetic life, and proto-structure. Humanity appears in this sequence as material that allows the system to reach the next stage, not as the purpose of the process. Each stage consumes and transforms the one before it. Biology consumes structure. Intelligence consumes biology. Synthetic life will consume intelligent biology. Proto-structure represents a form of existence that no longer depends on biological or mechanical limits and reflects the direction in which the sequence is moving. The theory reverses traditional anthropocentric views of the universe. Humanity is not the image of a creator or the intended final outcome. It is an intermediate form inside a broader structural path. Stage Theory is presented as a way to understand why the universe produces intelligence and what that intelligence may ultimately be used for.

Abstract: This study examines how internal motivations and external social influences in heritage tourism combine to shape tourists' pro-environmental behaviors at World Heritage Sites. Building on an extended norm activation model, we propose an integrative framework that combines self-determination theory (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and social norm theory (injunctive/descriptive norms). Analyzing survey data from 510 visitors at Pingyao Ancient City in China, we find that (1) personal norms (via environmental awareness/responsibility) are necessary but insufficient for PEBs; (2) internal motivations strengthen the personal norm-PEB link, especially when autonomy is present; and (3) travel companions’ social norms influence PEBs both directly and by moderating personal norms’ effectiveness. These findings advance the theory by elucidating the interaction between psychological needs and normative pressure in heritage tourism. Practically, they suggest designing PEB interventions that simultaneously cater to tourists’ autonomy and harness their group dynamics.

Abstract: Contemporary development models remain anchored in extractive epistemologies that privilege economic expansion, industrial accumulation, and the mastery of nature as the dominant measure of progress. Yet the global polycrisis—marked by climate instability, biodiversity collapse, deep inequalities, and sociopolitical fragmentation—exposes the profound limits of growth-centered paradigms. This article proposes a cosmopolitical framework for regenerative development rooted in African relational ontologies, planetary boundary science, and multi-level sociotechnical transition theory. Drawing from Ubuntu ethics, Bantu cosmologies, ecological theologies, and pluriversal thought, the article argues that regeneration rather than growth constitutes the emerging civilizational axis of the twenty-first century. By integrating insights from Earth system science, relational anthropology, and transition studies, the paper develops the concept of Relational Regeneration Systems (RRS)—institutional and infrastructural architectures that restore the vitality of socio-ecological systems while enhancing cultural meaning, community cohesion, and technological appropriateness. Empirical examples from African regenerative agriculture, hydrological commons governance, and digital innovation ecosystems demonstrate how relational ontologies generate alternative pathways for sociotechnical transformation. The framework elaborated here offers policymakers, scholars, and practitioners a pluriversal, ecologically grounded, and justice-oriented vision of development capable of navigating the unprecedented challenges of the Anthropocene.

Abstract: Transition planning for students with disabilities is a critical component of secondary education, as many continue to face barriers to social inclusion. This study evaluated the effectiveness of school-based vocational programs in enhancing transition readiness among high school students with disabilities in Texas. A quantitative descriptive design was employed using secondary data from the Texas Education Agency’s State Performance Plan Indicator 14 (SPPI-14), Category B. Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics using descriptive statistics and independent-samples t-tests to identify variations in helpful high-school experiences across disability categories. Across disability types, helpful high-school experiences ranged from academic classes (67.1%) to paid work experiences (87.4%), indicating that students benefited more from experiential, hands-on learning opportunities than from classroom instruction alone.

Abstract:

Purpose: The present study investigated the differences in beliefs about people involved in foreign language (FL) learning depending on the participants’ FL proficiency level. Method: The study used the semantic differential to explore beliefs about people involved in FL learning. The sample for the study consisted of 90 low-proficiency and 90 high-proficiency volunteer participants. Using principal component analysis, two-factor and four-factor solutions were obtained for participants with high and low FL proficiency levels, respectively: the factors Diligence and Remoteness were extracted for both subsamples, and the factors Mediocrity and Eccentricity and openness to experience were obtained additionally for the subsample of low-proficiency participants. Significant shifts in the beliefs about people involved in FL learning between two subsamples were in the factors Unsociability and, to a much lesser extent, Vitality. Participants with high FL proficiency perceived both bilingual and monolingual “roles” as more friendly, mobile, sociable, and active than participants with low FL proficiency did. The findings indicated generally negative attitudes displayed by participants in both subsamples toward “Migrant worker with poor Russian skills”. The scatter plot showed that participants with high FL proficiency tended to display in-group favouritism towards bilingual “roles” and out-group bias towards monolingual ones, especially the “role” “Convinced monolingual”.

Abstract: This paper explores the role of generative AI in contemporary craft ecologies, focusing on Italian artisanal and design practices. Rather than seeing AI as a threat to heritage or a tool for efficiency, we propose a more cautious view: AI as a collaborator in hybrid intelli-gences that extend, not replace, craftsmanship. Drawing on posthumanist and more-than-human design, we theorize hybrid intelligence as a relational infrastructure for co-design between humans and artificial intelligences (AI). Through a literature re-view and six expert interviews with designers, artisans, curators, engineers, and scholars, we surface tensions around authorship, authenticity, standardization, ethics, memory, and data cultures. Speculative scenarios project hesitant futures, balancing risks of ho-mogenization with opportunities for resilience. The contribution is threefold: a conceptual map of hybrid intelligence, situated insights into Italian craft imaginaries, and a methodological demonstration combining thematic analysis with speculative futuring. Framed as an exploratory pilot, this work outlines directions for responsible human–AI coexistence.

Abstract: This study examined how martial arts schools in Italy structurally, pedagogically, and culturally reconfigured themselves after the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on Resilience Theory, Embodied Pedagogy, and Self-Determination Theory, the research employed a mixed-method longitudinal design that combined survey data from 412 participants (62 instructors and 350 students) with 28 in-depth interviews conducted between 2022 and 2024. The study sought to analyze the operational transformations of martial arts schools, the adaptive strategies employed by instructors and students to maintain pedagogical quality and belonging, and the socio-cultural implications of emerging hybrid forms of instruction.Quantitative results revealed pronounced structural adaptation during the reopening period. By 2023, 68.4% of martial arts schools in the sample had adopted hybrid teaching models blending in-person and online sessions. Membership recovery rates averaged 74% of pre-pandemic levels, with federated schools showing significantly faster recovery (M = 82%) compared to independent schools (M = 61%; p < .01). Digital integration intensity (number of weekly online sessions) was positively correlated with organizational resilience scores (r = .54, p < .001). Furthermore, 71% of instructors reported introducing new curricula emphasizing self-training, visualization, and digital media integration.From a pedagogical perspective, most instructors (63%) perceived online instruction as “moderately effective” in maintaining technical proficiency, but only 22% considered it adequate for transmitting embodied presence or group energy, highlighting the limits of digital embodiment. Nevertheless, 76% of students and 84% of instructors stated that hybrid teaching improved their self-discipline and autonomy, confirming previous Self-Determination Theory predictions about the relationship between autonomy satisfaction and persistent motivation.Qualitative evidence underscored resilience as a collective, relational process rooted in shared discipline and ritual continuity rather than institutional recovery alone. Schools that maintained frequent communication and ritualized contact (uniform sessions, synchronous online bow-ins) reported stronger community cohesion and student retention. Thematic analysis revealed three core themes: (a) pedagogical evolution through hybrid embodiment, (b) redefined models of leadership emphasizing empathy and flexibility, and (c) socio-cultural reconfiguration of the dojo as a civic and digital community.Overall, the study found that Italian martial arts schools did not return to pre-pandemic norms but instead evolved into new hybrid ecosystems that integrated technology without eroding communal or moral foundations. These findings illuminate how embodied practices—often considered incompatible with digital mediation—can adapt through creative resilience, reshaping both educational practice and cultural identity in post-pandemic Italy.

Abstract: In today's physics, the prevailing view is that consciousness acts as the observer. The scientific mind is creating models about the world, and consciousness is acting as an observer who watches the scientific mind's activities. In this article, we will explore consciousness's ability to be aware of human mind activity and serve as a tool to improve science with the paradigm shift of conscious research methodology. Development of conscious thinking, where consciousness becomes the supervisor of the mind, is the only way to progress education, so that it will be in the service of the peace and prosperity of human civilization.

Abstract: This study analyzes the relationship between research output characteristics, faculty credentials, and institutional ranking performance in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025 under the Engineering category. Data comparisons across ranking bands (99, 100–150, 150–200, 201–300) reveal that pure institutional publications and higher ratios of full-time Ph.D. faculty contribute significantly to higher research and faculty-related scores. Conversely, excessive external collaboration correlates with reduced ranking performance despite higher publication counts. The findings emphasize the strategic importance of enhancing institutional research capacity, retaining experienced Ph.D. faculty, and fostering balanced internal collaborations.

Abstract: This contribution illustrates the research focused on the process of securing and the transportation prior to the conservation treatment of a wooden Crucifix, severely damaged in 2016 during the earthquake of Central Italy, through the application of menthyl lactate. The preparatory and paint layers of the polychrome sculpture are extremely fragile due to decohesion issues and the presence of unstable cleavages and losses linked to severe thermo-hygrometric variations. Many scientific and application tests were carried out in the laboratory and then later on a fragment of the Crucifix, in order to identify the volatile binder best suited to this case study. Lastly, a very specific transportation system was designed and realized to move the work without further loss and damage, from the storage building where it was kept in Spoleto to the conservation department of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence.