Journal of Emerging Trends in Social Sciences and Humanities
The Journal of Emerging Trends in Social Sciences and Humanities (JoETSSH) is an open-access, double-blind, peer-reviewed international journal that includes empirical research, theoretical articles, case studies, systematic literature reviews, and meta-analyses. The journal is approved by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan for the year 2026-2027 from April 2026 to December 2027. The journal team is striving hard to get it indexed with the Directory of Open Access Journals and other relevant prestigious indexing agencies. By keeping in view the mission of the Publisher, the Institute for Educating Environmental Resilience and Governance, the JoETSSH focuses on research topics, i.e., Education and Lifelong Learning, Sociology and Social Policy, Psychological Sciences, Political Science and Governance, Human Rights and Social Justice, Cultural and Communication Studies, Gender and Identity, Economics, Business and Management Sciences, etc. For details, visit Aim & Scope Desk Review Time: 2 weeks (Average) Peer-review Process: 7 weeks (Average) Acceptance Rate: 46% Note: The Journal did not charge any submission or processing charges, however, it charges a minimal publication fees to the authors. For detailed guidance, please visit Author Guidelines and Publication Fee and Funding details
INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATING ENVIRONMENT RESILIENCE AND GOVERNANCE (SMC-PRIVATE) LIMITED]
Islamic concept of taqwa and its relationship with positive character traits
This study explores the link between Islamic concept of Taqwa and positive character traits in Western psychology, specifically in Positive Psychology and moral development theories. This theoretical research seeks to gain insight in the similarities and differences between understanding, development and practice of the concept of moral character in Islamic moral psychology and modern psychological theories. This is a qualitative theoretical study with comparative analysis using textual analysis of the Qur’an, Islamic literature and contemporary psychological literature. Findings indicate that the Islamic concept of Taqwa is an integrated moral and spiritual understanding that unifies awareness, thought and behaviour in its understanding of divine accountability. It promotes and develops virtues such as honesty, patience, gratitude, self-control, justice and so on. Western psychological theories, particularly the Values in Action (VIA) measures of character strengths by Peterson and Seligman, (2004) on the other hand, single out empirically measurable traits that lead to mental health and social harmony. While the virtues noted are comparable, the approaches are different. Islamic psychology uses the revelations and accountability as a foundation for it, while Western psychology uses human reasoning and as well as empirical evidences. The research also highlights a gap in the absence of integrated models of moral development that highlights both the spiritual and psychological aspects. This discussion adds that Taqwa offers an integrated moral direction that encompasses positive traits and gives them a spiritual and moral purpose.
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Beyond lawmaking: Strengthening legislative oversight for democratic accountability and good governance
Legislative institutions play a critical role in democratic governance by continuously scrutinizing executive actions, overseeing public expenditures, monitoring policymaking processes, and ensuring institutional accountability and effective governance. The study focused on the role of legislative oversight in strengthening democratic accountability and good governance beyond legislation. A qualitative documentary research design was used, and 100 documents were analyzed, comprising 40 parliamentary documents, 20 reports of legislative committees and oversight, 15 budget- and audit-related documents, 10 constitutional and legislative documents, and 15 scholarly studies. Thematic and structured document analysis were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that executive scrutiny (88%) was the highest, followed by parliamentary committee scrutiny (84%), financial and audit scrutiny (79%), parliamentary questioning (76%) and policy implementation monitoring (71%). In terms of accountability results, executive answerability was 86%, transparency 82% and enhanced checks and balances 81%. Polarization among politicians (78%), restricted information availability (75%), and inadequate follow-up mechanisms (73%) were major challenges. The most prominent reform priorities were strengthening parliamentary committees (85%), improving access to government information (83%), building research and technical capacity (80%), and strengthening follow-up mechanisms (78%). The study found that parliamentary institutions needed to be strengthened to become more effective tools of democratic accountability and good governance, which required continuous scrutiny, institutional capacity, access to reliable information, responsiveness of the Executive Branch, and meaningful follow-up.
Conflict capitalism: A deep dive into the interconnected world of arms trade, private military companies, and political agendas
This study provides an in-depth examination of the conflict capitalism: the intricate design of the connection between armed conflict, arms industry, and political processes. The research is focused on realism, power and national interest to influence state action. The investigation gives greater depth to the disturbing correlation of wars and the rise of the stock prices of defense corporations, including the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Israel-Palestine war. The study then explores the conflict from the perspective of the conflict theory, questioning the dominant narratives of global conflicts and looking at the structural forces that sustain conflict. Key concerns are the economic necessities of private industry in the arms business, the nature and balance of the business and its ethical or global aspects. The analysis also reveals the impacts of neoliberal imperialism and how the arms trade and complex economic interest and geopolitical power are all a consequence of neoliberal economic policies. Finally, the studies offer a more nuanced and advanced understanding of conflict capitalism, which transcends a traditional universalist perspective and approach to the conflict, qualifying the effects and intersection of economic interests and current international conflicts.
Power politics and proxy warfare in the Middle East: A critical analysis of the Iran-Saudi Arabia rivalry and its impact on regional stability (2015–2025)
Iran-Saudi Arabia fight a major factor to shape politics, security throughout the Middle East. The impact of power disputes and proxy wars on regional stability is being analyzed in this research work from 2015 to 2025. With its view grounded in the Realism theory it interprets the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia and its effects on peace and security. It adopts an approach and considers secondary sources such as academic journals, books and reports published by international organizations. It contrasts Yemeni and Syriza issues which are key flashpoint areas for Iran and Saudi Arabia's skirmishes. It is concluded that Iran and Saudi Arabia are not only waging proxy wars and alliances but also achieve their desired objectives without engaging in direct combat. This competition resulted in conflicts, disturbances, security challenges, economic situations and human suffering. The 2023 Beijing Agreement is also important as it opened up chances for diplomacy and reducing tensions. The study finds that lasting stability in the region depends on countries Choosing Dialogue, building mutual trust, and cooperating Diplomatically instead of relying on proxy conflicts and geopolitically rivalry.
The role of parental attitudes and cultural norms in shaping female education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
The literacy rate among females is a pressing issue in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Pakistan. The economic factors are well documented, while the cultural factors such as purdah, early marriage and parental attitudes need further study. The objective of the study was to explore the cultural and parental factors that obstruct the female education level in KP. Descriptive survey was conducted in 10. A structured questionnaire was used and the data were analyzed descriptively (frequencies and percentages). The study found that 71% of students reported parental discrimination in education, with male parents (91.5%) overwhelmingly dominating educational decision-making. While 90% believed purdah should be observed, 60-74% did not believe it prevents girls’ education, suggesting evolving cultural attitudes. Early marriage was practiced by 70% of families, and 88% identified it as a restricting factor in female education. The majority (70-75%) reported no negative effects of female education, though 68% identified non-earning status of women as a cause of deprivation from education. Significantly, 85.5% believed educated women perform domestic duties, challenging the perception that education makes women neglect household responsibilities. Cultural and parental barriers significantly constrain girls’ education in KP. However, the finding that most students distinguish between purdah and education, and do not perceive negative effects of female education, and suggested the evolving cultural attitudes.
The cognitive dissonance singularity: Toward a conceptual model of identity saturation in the digital age a conceptual research paper in psychology and media studies
Festingers theory of cognitive dissonance (1957) described a tension between belief and behavior. In this paper we see that the conditions of contemporary digital life have changed both the means and the type of tension. Elaborating on Festinger’s original framework, the social comparison theory (1954), stating people have a natural drive to evaluate their own abilities and worth by comparing themselves with other people. Here context collapse explains why social media creates an environment where many audiences are present. We observe a state we call the Cognitive Dissonance singularity (CDS): a proposed state in which the accumulation of simultaneous, non exclusive identities across digital, social and professional settings exceeds an individual’s capacity to differentiate between them. We trace the variation from a unified self to a performative one, and propose three metrics; chronic dissonance, a threshold effect and identity entropy. We then examine the theoretical foundations and effects of CDS by using excerpts from neuroscience and sociology. Rather than treating chronic dissonance, threshold effects, and identity entropy as measurable variables. We see them as conceptual models for understanding how prolonged exposure to fragmented digital identities may affect self-identity. The model is situated with existing research on the brain and self-identity, default mode network and executive function while remaining distinct. Finally, we consider the implications of CDS for psychological wellbeing.
Genome-wide association study for coat colour and other qualitative morphological traits in indigenous goat breeds of Sindh-Pakistan using 50k SNP bead chip
Sindh province harbours the largest number of indigenous goat breeds in Pakistan, and these breeds are distinguished from one another largely on the basis of qualitative morphological traits such as coat colour and pattern, eye colour, hair length, nose shape and horn orientation. The present study was designed to identify genomic regions and candidate genes associated with seven qualitative morphological traits in nine indigenous goat breeds of Sindh, viz. Barri, Bugi-Tori, Chappar, Jattan, Kachan, Kamori, Pateri, Tapri and Thari. Phenotypes were recorded on 395 goats (49 males and 346 females) through standardised photography and a structured proforma, and genomic DNA extracted from jugular blood was genotyped with the Illumina Goat SNP50 BeadChip. Association analysis was performed in PLINK 1.9 using a case-control model for six binary traits and a quantitative model for nose length, fitting breed, sex and correlated traits as covariates, with Benjamini-Hochberg control of the false discovery rate. A total of 38 SNPs reached significance: five for black body coat, four for flowery colour pattern, one for brown eye colour, seven for short hair, nine for Roman nose shape and twelve for upward horn orientation, whereas no SNP was significant for nose length. Two SNPs on chromosomes 1 (IL1RAP) and 9 (PRKN) were shared between black coat and flowery pattern. These markers provide the first genome-wide evidence on the architecture of qualitative morphological traits in Pakistani goats and offer a starting point for marker-assisted selection of breed-defining phenotypes.
The rise of geo-finance: Financial markets as arenas of International political contestation
In this study, the financial markets were analysed by considering the effects of geopolitical tensions and geopolitical risk, financial sanctions, capital flow reallocation, currency power, and financial fragmentation. A qualitative research design was adopted and utilized 60 countries of which 20 were advanced countries, 20 emerging countries and 20 developing countries, were taken using purposeful sampling. International sources, academic research, and reputable financial sources were used to gather secondary evidence. An analysis of the material has been used, which involved the following methods: thematic analysis, comparative analysis, scenario analysis, based on identification of major patterns in the sanitary financial relations of the 21st century. The findings indicate that 81.7 per cent of the countries sampled had higher investor uncertainty in times of geopolitical tensions, 75.0 per cent at the stock market, and 70.0 per cent at the sovereign level. There were significant effects from financial sanctions: 76.7% of countries had higher transaction costs, 71.7% had less international financial access, and 65.0% had lower levels of foreign investment. Financial fragmentation was also seen to have risen, with 73.3 per cent of countries stating a higher preference to deal with geopolitical partners, 66.7 per cent stating that their cross-border banking relationships changed and 70 per cent reporting increased financial cooperation within their region. The results upheld that geopolitical competition had a growing footprint on the behaviors of financial markets, capital allocation, and international economic relations.
The unseen sibling: Parental differential treatment, sibling relationship quality, self-esteem, and emotional-behavioral problems among siblings of children with special needs
This study aims to examine the relationship between parental differential treatment, sibling relationship quality, self-esteem and emotional-behavioral problems in siblings of children with special needs. The research design was a cross-sectional correlational study. Purposive sampling was used to choose 125 adolescents (males f=50 and females f=75) between the ages 12 and 18 years from private schools in Lahore. Four standardized scales were used to gather information: Sibling Inventory of Differential Experience - Revised (SIDE-R) (Daniels & Plomin, 1985), Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ) (Furman & Buhrmester, 1985), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) (Rosenberg, 1965), and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) (Goodman, 1997). The Pearson Product Moment Correlation demonstrate that differential control was positively related to sibling relationship quality and negatively related to emotional-behavioral problems and self-esteem. A limitation of the study is the use of cross-sectional research design, which limits causal interpretation. Overall, findings emphasize the importance of family dynamics; particularly parental treatment and sibling relationships in shaping adolescents emotional and behavioral adjustment.
Faith, migration, and survival: Zoroastrians from Qajar Iran to South Asia, 1789–1925
The period under consideration (1789–1925) is the Qajar period in Iran and the migration of Zoroastrians to South Asia. This study explains the motivation behind the mass departure of the religious minority from their homeland, the means by which they traveled, and the life they established upon their arrival in South Asia. The Qajar period was a turning point: migration to the Indian subcontinent had earlier roots, but during the Qajar period, movement became a consistent community-level response to conditions that threatened not only the physical survival of Zoroastrians but also their cultural continuity. Zoroastrian decline under Islamic rule was a gradual process that resulted from more than a millennium of discrimination, and by 1789, when the Qajars consolidated power, the community's population was already limited to a handful of thousands in the two desert provinces of Yazd and Kerman. South Asia was, in effect, the only possible destination: the established Parsi community in Bombay and in Karachi was the only place in the world that could provide co-religious solidarity, institutional support, legal protection, and real economic opportunity. By offering a narrative that is neither solely driven by persecution nor solely by the geography of opportunity, this study confronts an uncomfortable truth: the very community boundaries that helped the Parsis to survive for centuries, including endogamy and opposition to accepting converts, also help to explain the demographic downfall that today sees the community in India at about 57,000 and in Pakistan at fewer than a thousand.
The weaponization of water: Transboundary river dispute resolution frameworks under stress
Increased strategic use of transboundary water for political leverage threatens the resilience of international river governance. Traditional cooperation through treaties and organisations faces growing challenges posed by geopolitical competition, climate variability, and infrastructure inequality. This qualitative study of the Indus, Nile, Mekong, Euphrates-Tigris, and Brahmaputra basins integrates theories of hydro-hegemony, international law, and environmental security. The research defines "water weaponisation" as the deliberate upstream manipulation of flows or infrastructure for political gain when downstream states lack timely institutional recourse. While mechanisms like mediation and joint monitoring are essential, their effectiveness is often undermined by data secrecy, inflexible legal obligations, and broader security conflicts. The study concludes that institutional success depends on facilitating communication and monitoring behaviour during crises rather than the mere existence of a treaty. Proposed reforms include modernised legal protections, "crisis preparedness," independently auditable hydrological data, and climate-responsive allocation rules. These changes aim to reduce the strategic value of unilateral manipulation, thereby safeguarding regional stability.
Impact of sustainable workplace environment on employee well-being: Mediating role of work engagement and moderating role of psychological safety
The study explores how a sustainable workplace environment can influence the well-being of the employees, while assessing the mediating effect of work engagement and the moderating effect of psychological safety. The data from the cross-sectional, self-report questionnaire was collected from 244 full-time employees in Textile and IT sectors and analysed using IBM SPSS and PROCESS macro for mediation and moderation testing. Analysis indicated that the sustainable workplace environment was significantly and positively associated with employee well-being (β = .726, p < .001) and work engagement (β = .658, p < .001), whereas work engagement was significantly and positively associated with well-being (β = .397, p < .001). The sustainable environment of the workplace was found to significantly and partially mediate the relationship between well-being and work engagement (indirect effect = .202, 95% CI [.130, .279]); the direct effect was still significant. This hypothesis was not supported as psychological safety did not significantly moderate the sustainable workplace environment and work engagement (B = .017, p = .257). These results provide partial support for a partial mediation model, in which a supportive workplace environment has a direct positive impact on employee well-being, as well as an indirect impact via work engagement; they also suggest that psychological safety is a distinct resource that is not simply a reflection of the relationship between workplace environment and work engagement.
Nation building in Pakistan: Governance failure, economic deprivation, and the crisis of substantive citizenship
Pakistan is continuously struggling to foster a cohesive national identity since its inception. This paper argues that the reasons lie more in governance and economic failure. While existing scholarship treats nation-building as an identity project shaped by religion, ethnicity, and history, this study treats it as fundamentally a governance project. It argues that structural inequality, elite capture, and state irresponsiveness erode public trust and hamper the citizen-state bond in ways that ideology alone cannot repair. The paper is focused on four research questions including what patterns of economic inequality and governance failure currently exist in Pakistan, how governance deficits such as corruption, patronage, and weak institutions perpetuate underdevelopment, how these conditions in turn shape citizens' attitudes and civic behavior and how governance and economic failures undermine nation-building. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative, interpretive design, grounded in academic literature, policy reports, and institutional assessments, which are thematically analyzed and synthesized within a framework. The purposed Theoretical framewoek combine institutionalism, principal-agent theory, the inclusive-extractive institutions distinction of Acemoglu and Robinson, and the good governance framework. The analysis found a causal chain from elite-dominated, extractive institutions to regional economic deprivation, from deprivation and corruption to sustained underdevelopment, and from unmet material needs to eroding trust, civic disengagement, and sectional loyalties. The paper finds that this fractured state-citizen relationship is the core obstacle to Pakistani nation-building. The solution purposed "substantive citizenship" built on inclusive governance, equitable economic participation, and responsive public service delivery for effective nation-building in Pakistan.
Representation of Pashtun identity in British colonial discourse
Production, classification and fixation of knowledge about Pashtuns remained one of the basic strategy of the colonial writers for the building of great empires. The British writings, travelogues and ethnographies produced, categorized and reproduced the indigenous identities. This colonial mission was started George J.R. Foster between 1782 and 1784. His work differentiated Pashtuns and Indians and sketches his personal encounters with local people including the mullahs. However, Mountstuart Elphinstone started ethnographic study of Pashtuns in 1808 through the Khyber Pass that was published in 1815. That’s why the present study examines the systematic production of knowledge about the Pashtuns in British colonial discourse from 1815 to 1947. This study also focuses on indigenous scholarships and responses to colonial discourse. This study also examines theoretical dimension of Pashtun identity with post-colonial thoughts, subaltern approach and discourse analysis. This paper argues that colonial discourse produced the knowledge about Pashtun as tribal, martial, and ungovernable. These were not neutral claims but designed to facilitate imperial control over the indigenous population and their historiography. By studying both colonial discourses and indigenous responses, oral traditions and resistance movements, this study demonstrates that colonial knowledge about Pashtun identity is neither imposed thoroughly nor accepted passively. This identity is continuously negotiated and amended through the process of fragmented politicization. It concludes that the categorization of local population through knowledge have had enduring legacies of the British forces, but this was persistently contested and reinterpreted by postcolonial intellectuals.
Predictive role of artificial, moral and spiritual intelligence in academic achievement among PhD scholars in Punjab, Pakistan
This study examined how Artificial Intelligence (AI), Moral Intelligence (MI) and Spiritual Intelligence (SI) predict the academic achievement of PhD scholars. A total of 923 participants were selected through stratified random sampling. This method ensured representation from different universities and academic disciplines. A quantitative research design was used. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire. Academic achievement was measured through the participants’ current CGPA. The reliability of the questionnaire was tested using Cronbach’s Alpha. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regression were used for data analysis in SPSS. The results showed that the participants had high levels of AI (M =3.75, SD = 0.65), MI (M = 4.02, SD = 0.60) and SI (M = 4.11, SD = 0.38). The mean academic achievement was 3.26 (SD = 0.70). Pearson correlation showed significant positive relationships among the study variables. Multiple regression results showed that the overall model was significant, F (3,919) = 34.319, P < .001. The model explained 10.1 % of the variance in academic achievement (R2 = .101). AI, MI and SI were significant positive predictors of academic achievement. The study concludes that developing technological, moral and spiritual abilities together can support academic achievement among PhD scholars. Higher education should encourage the responsible use of AI along with moral and spiritual development.
Evolution of tape to electronic mapping in Pakistan’s archaeology: A case study of Buddhist and Late Medieval periods sites in District Mansehra
The mapping of archaeological sites and artifacts within excavation units is essential for proper documentation in exploration and excavation. Many traditional techniques for mapping archaeological sites have been used during the colonial period and still are being practiced in different field activities by archaeologists of Pakistan. The use of digital mapping using a total station for creating digital maps of archaeological sites is gradually being adopted in modern excavations. This paper will present a comparison of maps made by earlier techniques and newer digital maps using examples from the Buddhist sites of Zar Dheri, Bado Dhari site, and Guli Bagh, as well as some of the late Muslim medieval period sites from District Mansehra, Pakistan. All these sites have been recently excavated and documented by the Department of Archaeology Hazara University, Mansehra with the financial support of Higher Education Commission Pakistan and administrative support of the Directorate of Archaeology and Museum Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Prospects of a feminist foreign policy for Pakistan: Obstacles and way forward
A feminist foreign policy framework is a humane alternative to the conventional foreign policy approach. This idea has gained visible prominence globally as it aims to incorporate gender equality as well as gender sensitivity across the board. Despite these developments globally, the debate on feminist foreign policy remains relatively less prominent in Pakistan’s context. Therefore, this study intends to explore the challenges, prospects, and a possible way forward to incorporate components in line with feminist foreign policy within Pakistan’s foreign policy framework. A qualitative approach is used with an amalgamation of secondary as well as primary sources comprising existing literature, a field survey based on purposive sampling, and semi-structured interviews. Comparative insights from countries such as Sweden, Canada, Mexico, and Germany are also analyzed to gain deeper insight into the operationalization and limitations of feminist foreign policy approaches to suggest a way forward for Pakistan. It was revealed through the findings that while Pakistan has witnessed gradual improvements in women’s political participation and gender-focused policy initiatives, the concept of feminist foreign policy has yet to gain meaningful traction in academic and policy debates. Moreover, it was also argued that, before initiating a debate over the viability of a FFP framework in Pakistan, it is pertinent to build an engaging narrative of acceptance for such a phenomenon and realization of Pakistan’s need to adopt one to portray a soft image of Pakistan globally.
Parental perceptions of inclusive education for children with disabilities in mainstream schools
Academic inclusion promised equal access, inclusion, and dignity to children with disabilities, yet parents gauged it by the actual quality of school practice. This research involved the study of how parents view inclusive education of children with disabilities in normal schools. It explored parental perceptions of inclusion, their attachment to inclusion benefits, and how their anxieties affected their attitudes toward or reservations about mainstream placement. It was a qualitative method. The data collection of 24 semi-structured interviews with parents and primary caregivers of children with various disabilities attending normal mainstream schools were used. Thematic analysis presented in the interview data was used to find meanings, concerns, and patterns that were repetitive yet present in all the participants. Parents used to support the idea of inclusive education though they usually were conditional. They appreciated peer contact, confidence, equality, and social engagement. Nevertheless, they also voiced serious concerns regarding training of teachers, accessibility of classes, learning facilities, school bullying, emotional safety, transportation strains, and poor school-family communication. The researchers concluded that parental reluctance to inclusion should not be considered a rejection. Rather, it was practical deficiencies related to practice largely due to the failure of mainstream schools to offer support, safety, respect, and individualized learning opportunities in the ordinary classroom experiences as well as school-family relations, both over time
Navigating evaluative stress: Assessing metacognitive awareness, test anxiety, and achievement among secondary school students
Test anxiety is often a problem that can impact students' academic work, and metacognitive awareness assists students in planning, monitoring, and assessing their learning processes. The present study was conducted to explore the levels of metacognitive awareness, test anxiety, and academic achievement of secondary school students in District Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. The research design used was a quantitative survey design, where a modified questionnaire was used to measure metacognitive awareness and test anxiety, and students’ examination scores were used as the academic achievement indicator. The results showed that students' metacognitive awareness was at a moderate level and students' test anxiety was moderate. Levels of achievement were generally satisfactory. There was no significant difference based on gender, school type and grade level in metacognitive awareness. Schools are encouraged to encourage metacognitive learning strategies and to offer specific interventions that will reduce test anxiety in secondary school students.
Rethinking regional order concepts after october 7: Uncertainty, non-state agency, and the limits of existing IR theories
Middle East scholarship has agreed since 2024 that regional order concepts are struggling, and has largely diagnosed a coverage problem: the frameworks left non-state actors out, so put them in. This article argues the trouble runs deeper and is epistemic rather than empirical. Regional security complex theory and its rivals are instruments built for a world of calculable risk. They assume units that hold their type, capability that behaves as a stock, and actors optimizing against distributions they can estimate. October 7 and the twenty-nine months that followed satisfied none of those conditions. Borrowing Katzenstein and Seybert’s distinction between control power and protean power, the article shows that the pivotal effects of the period came from improvisation under radical uncertainty, which is an effect rather than a resource and therefore cannot be held, counted, or balanced against. It also identifies a second failure the debate has missed: the units themselves changed type, not merely position, and concepts that index order to relations among units cannot absorb that. Adding non-state actors as a variable will not repair either problem, because both are properties of closed-system modelling rather than of any variable list. The article specifies what a generative account would require and states the scope conditions under which existing concepts still hold.
Artificial Intelligence and student learning in higher education: Opportunities, challenges, and future directions
There is growing interest in how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is impacting on teaching and learning in higher education, presenting new opportunities and possibilities for personalized learning, academic support, feedback and engagement. Its increased adoption, however, has sparked debate on academic honesty, techno-dependency, privacy and security of data, access disparities and the evolving role of teachers and students. This qualitative study explored participants’ perceptions and experiences of the use of AI in student learning within higher education. The data collecting method employed was semi-structured interview method among the participants of the higher education institutions. Thematic analysis was used to identify common themes linked to the educational advantages, obstacles, and prospects for the use of AI in learning. The results showed that AI tools can help to improve access to information, give instant feedback, enable personalized learning, increase understanding of challenging concepts and facilitate independent learning. The participants also raised worries about the lack of accurate or unbiased information, limited critical thinking, plagiarism, ethics, and low AI literacy, and overreliance on AI-generated text. The results further underscored the importance of institutional policies, teacher guidance, student training, ethical frameworks, and equitable access to AI technologies. However, the study concludes that AI shows great promise in enhancing student learning in higher education, provided that it is utilized responsibly as an educational aid, not a replacement for human reasoning, engagement with teachers, and active student participation. The study has implications for universities, teachers, and policymakers interested in pedagogically utilizing AI in higher education ethically, inclusively, and meaningfully.
Evaluating the architectural trade-offs of micro services versus monolithic designs: An empirical analysis of scalability and maintainability in enterprise environments
One key problem in enterprise software is the different software architecture problems. The two popular architectures are monolithic and microservices architecture. A review of the literature indicates, however, that current research tends to focus on the assessment of These quality attributes have been studied individually, with limited evidence to support their joint constraints. To overcome this gap, the present study has adopted a systematic secondary data analysis based on a comparative study. Evaluation and Evidence Extraction Synthesis (CEES) framework, a synthesis of empirical findings. From recently published peer-reviewed studies comparing both architectural styles. The analysis combines quantitative Integrate performance evidence and qualitative maintainability properties in one architecture evaluation. Both architectures showed similar performance under baseline workloads but not under overloads; Larger datasets led to increases in response time as the monolithic architecture broke down to a 20 s response time for 10, and then 50, concurrent users. The microservices architecture, on the other hand, maintained a better performance of a 15 s response time. What the results also reveal is that although the microservices promise numerous benefits in the areas of scalability, modularity and fault isolation, these benefits are substantial, but come with the added complexity of managing distributed communication, orchestration, and infrastructure. The study finally demonstrates that the choice of architectural style should be based on the needs of the organization, not technology.
The impact of digital tools on students' engagement and academic performance in grade VII mathematics classroom: An action research
This paper explored the effectiveness of using digital applications Adapt Mind and GeoGebra on students’ engagement and achievement in Grade VII the mathematics classroom. This is an action research study working on single cycle. Adapt Mind and GeoGebra were the main instructional tools used in the process of intervention to facilitate the interactive learning environment. The study is done with in natural classroom environment among Grade VII students. Quantitative data is used to analyse both engagement and academic achievement of Grade VII students in mathematics classroom. The findings of the research demonstrated that the academic performance and engagement had significantly improved statistically after the integration of digital tools. The academic scores of students have increased in post-test after using digital applications Adapt Mind and GeoGebra. Moreover, students have shown increased participation while using the apps. The research paper concludes that Adapt mind and GeoGebra can contribute to the increased involvement and academic achievement of students in mathematics classrooms significantly.
Breaking barriers to educational access: Gender-free primary education as a policy strategy for reducing out-of-school children in Balochistan
Educational exclusion in Balochistan shows a significant number of out-of-school children (OOSC) attributed to social inequality, lack of infrastructure due to dispersed settlements, and the absence of teachers in many areas. This research addresses the Gender-Free Primary Education (GFPE) Plan, which introduces a gender-inclusive, community-based primary school model for teaching Grades 1 to 5 and employs female teachers. This study utilized mixed methods with an explanatory sequential design. The methods included the analysis of pertinent documents, administration of a survey to 287 education management stakeholders from all 12 districts, and conducting 20 key informant interviews. The survey results showed that 78.4% of the respondents fully supported the establishment of GFPE, and 81.2% of the respondents from the dispersed districts stated that GFPE would reduce OOSC by 20% in a three-year period. Support varied across the districts, and ANOVA demonstrated significant results, F (2, 284) = 18.42, p < .001. Safety, the availability of female teachers, the cost of the service, and community framing were cited by the respondents as the main barriers to GFPE. GFPE is affordable and culturally negotiable, and with the appropriate resources and safeguards, could be implemented in order to improve the access to primary education for girls in Balochistan.
Machine learning-driven software architecture pattern recommendation: Bridging requirement specifications and design decisions
This paper intends to present the Requirement-Aware Architecture Pattern Recommendation System that uses the Machine Learning(ML) as input with functional and non-functional requirement sets (FRs/NFRs) and automatically outputs a best-fit architecture pattern. The proposed approach is based on the use of deep natural language processing techniques (e.g., TF-IDF, word embedding) to identify meaningful features in requirement text. These features are then correlated with important quality attributes (scalability, security, performance, maintainability, availability etc.), and finally, supervised ML Classifiers (Random Forest, SVM, Decision Trees, NNs etc.) are employed to predict the most suitable architecture style. The system is trained and validated with-standard datasets, like PROMISE_exp, and also real-world Software Requirement Specification (SRS) documents. A demo-able, real-world prototype is also suggested, which would enable a user to put in his/her requirements and receive a real-time suggestion, justification, and a confidence score. This research will offer software architects, students and small-to-medium enterprises a tool to quickly, consistently and without bias select software architecture. The lack of work in the literature which discusses both NFR classification and architecture detection upon implementation of the system into source code will be addressed in the proposed approach; novelty comes from providing an end-to-end automated recommendation at the requirement level (pre-implementation stage).
Entangled histories: Religion, science, modernity, and electricity
In this article, we question the assumption that religion and science have historically operated in conflict with each other. We examine how the modern categories of science and religion were formed and how this modern categorization reinterpreted the earlier knowledge traditions. We argue that the conflict thesis depends on a selective reading of the medieval period and offers a simple story. This simplistic narrative often presents science as progress and religion as regress. The historical analysis of the relationship between the two, however, presents a more complicated story. Religion was never uniformly inhospitable to science and science was never developed entirely outside religion, culture, and politics. Understanding their relationship requires attention to the many histories through which both came to possess their modern meanings. We, in this article, examine some of these more complicated histories. We examine the theological thought of Isaac Newton and investigate religious interpretation of electricity. We examine the theology of natural resources and waste to show how religion participated in the development of industrial modernity. The purpose of this article is to challenge the conflict thesis by showing that the relationship between religion and science cannot be reduced either to permanent conflict or complete harmony. We use sources from the history of Christianity, colonial encounters with non-Western religions, and the movement of knowledge across diverse traditions, to show that scientific inquiry was never produced by one civilization or through the rejection of religion alone.
Non-state actors and biological threats: Revisiting bioterrorism in the twenty-first Century
Bioterrorism remains a significant but contested dimension of international security, particularly as advances in synthetic biology, genome editing, artificial intelligence, and biological design are changing the technological environment in which biological threats emerge. This study re-examines the capacity of non-state actors to pose biological threats and addresses a gap in conventional debates that often focus either on the severity of the threat or on the practical barriers to its realization. Drawing on securitization theory, the study examines how biological threats posed by non-state actors are constructed as security concerns and how technological change may affect the relationship between intent and capability. It uses a qualitative comparative analysis of the Rajneeshee cult, Aum Shinrikyo, and Islamic State, together with an assessment of contemporary international biosecurity governance. The analysis finds that historical cases were constrained by limitations in specialized knowledge, access, dissemination, and organizational capacity, indicating that intent alone was insufficient to produce sustained biological violence. Emerging technologies may reduce some of these barriers, but technological progress does not automatically translate into operational capability; access, expertise, organizational capacity, and other institutional constraints remain important. The study further finds that existing frameworks, including the Biological Weapons Convention, dual-use research governance, and the Global Health Security Agenda, provide important foundations but remain fragmented in addressing emerging risks. The paper concludes that effective prevention requires stronger biosecurity governance, improved screening and verification mechanisms, preparedness, and sustained coordination among governments, scientific institutions, industry, and international organizations.
Peripheral epistemologies: Voicing the unvoiced oral histories, digital spaces, and marginalised voices in the agrarian-feudal societies of the postcolonial world
This keynote address examines the concept of marginalised voices within the subtheme of Oral Histories, Digital Spaces, and Marginalised Voices, taking as its central text Sarmad Sultan Khoosat's film Zindagi Tamasha (The Circus of Life, 2019/2023). Through close reading of the film, the address argues that the figure of the social outcast — the tawaif, the eunuch, and Rahat Khawaja with his non-conformist passion for dance — participates in a long tradition of Urdu literary and cinematic moral discourse about the relationship between deviance, humanity, and social belonging. The keynote situates this analysis within a critical interrogation of the Eurocentric character of contemporary discourses on marginalised communities, arguing that the theoretical frameworks of Foucault, Spivak, and the liberal democratic tradition emerged from specific historical conditions — the Industrial Revolution, the two World Wars, and the capitalist-democratic order — that do not map straightforwardly onto the agrarian-feudal social formations of the postcolonial world. Drawing on the author's published film criticism and interviews in The Friday Times, and on recent scholarship in postcolonial theory (Spivak, 1988; Foucault, 1980), documentary and film studies (Zafar, 2017), the sociology of development (Mody, 2023), and Urdu literary studies (Dewan, 2019; Vanita, 2016), the address proposes that the dismantling of social taboos in Pakistani and South Asian societies is most durably achieved not through the importation of Eurocentric liberal ideologies but through the structural transformation from agrarian to industrial society, of which investment in girls' education is the most critical lever.
From frontier resistance to political nationalism: Changing strategies of resistance in Balochistan
Political resistance is a recurring theme in Balochistan's relations with outside and regional centres of power, and the nature, purposes and political significance of this resistance has transformed over time. This article explores how the resistance in Balochistan has evolved from early localized struggles to external authority to organized political and cultural struggle during the British colonial rule. The study uses historic sources, colonial developments, political writings and recent scholarship to view resistance as a continually evolving strategy, not as a nationalist struggle that was continuous or uniform. In previous times, external domination was restricted by difficult geography, local governance, evasion, refusal of tribute, migration and armed resistance. Negotiation, alliance-building and political consolidation grew more significant means of maintaining autonomy during the Khanate of Kalat. In the nineteenth century, the British came to expand, changing the nature of power as well as resistance as they had to rely on a system of frontier administration, indirect rule, and tribal intermediaries. Armed resistance was complemented by political organizations, journalism, poetry, historical memory and nationalist discourse by the beginning of the twentieth century. The article draws on theories of James C. Scott and Charles Tilly to suggest that resistance in Balochistan began as a result of the shifting patterns of political opportunities, state presence and collective action.
Gender and flood evacuation: Structural barriers to women’s flood mobility in rural Punjab, Pakistan
Displacement caused by floods is often considered as mobility problem. However, many women in rural Punjab become unable to move at all during the hazardous times. The core idea of this paper is to explore the causes of the immobility of women during floods. Mixed method research design is used to explore the causes of immobility of women in the four districts of Punjab; Muzaffargarh, Mianwali, Sargodha and Attock. The districts are cautiously selected by keeping in view their different demography, economic activity, social norms and living standard of women. 480 well-structured household surveys along with semi structured interviews and focus group discussions are conducted across the four districts. They help in building a Livelihood Vulnerability Index and Mobility Constraint Scale. The findings produce stark outcomes. They suggest that immobility is caused by many factors such as sociocultural norms, religious teachings, weak political and administrative system, low literacy rate, fragile economic and health condition, and devastated route and relief camps. These causes operate differently before, during and after a flood, but they interact cumulatively rather than in isolation, producing what this paper terms compound immobility. The paper closes with policy recommendations that are grounded in the study districts rather than borrowed wholesale from international templates, and situates Pakistan's experience against comparative evidence from Bangladesh.