Academic literature on the topic 'Student unrest'

Student unrest management is a significant challenge in higher institutions in Nigeria. It leads to the destruction of school property, extended academic calendars, and an increased likelihood of student involvement in criminal activities during school shutdown. The situation warranted a need to reconsider management approaches to student unrest. Underpinned by Ubuntu theory, this conceptual paper explores Afrocentric approaches to mitigating and managing student unrest. Conceptual analysis was adopted to explicate the nuanced relationship between Ubuntu principles and managing student unrest. First, the article provides an overview of the history of student unrest in Nigeria and examines the existing strategies for managing student unrest and their success rate. The study examined the professionalization of student unionism in Africa, considering diverse scholarly viewpoints on student unrest and the consequences of student protests on students, institutions, and national progress. Based on Ubuntu’s principles of community building, mutual respect, and collaboration, the article focuses on finding solutions in the best interests of all parties involved by prioritizing relationships and the interconnectedness of stakeholders over individual interests. Hence, the article proposes a model for transforming student unrest management in Nigerian higher institutions. Recommendations were made on the explications.

Welfare services provision and management of student unrest are crucial issues in the governance of higher institutions. This study assessed the provision of welfare services with a focus on understanding their adequacy and impact on student unrest. The objectives were to identify the available welfare services provided, evaluate the strategies, employed in managing student unrest, and determine the influence of welfare service provision on the management of student unrest. The study was hinged on the theory frustration-aggression, which has been widely applied to understand various social behaviors, including student unrest in educational settings. The research adopted a descriptive survey design, utilizing a multi-stage cluster sampling method to ensure a representative sample of students from various faculties at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Nigeria. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated that while certain welfare services, such as health care, are perceived as adequate by most students, there are significant concerns regarding the adequacy of mental health support, financial aid, housing, career services, and other student support systems. The study concluded that there are critical areas in need of enhancement to better meet student needs and to manage student unrest more effectively.

South Africa has seen a surge in student protests, with virtually every institution of higher education experiencing some degree of disrupted productivity. This paper is a theoretical argument that presents the proponents of decoloniality as a tool to deradicalise students’ minds against radical student unrest in the university system and answers the question of how to deradicalise student unrest using decoloniality as a tool. The study is located with a transformative worldview, and the argument was analysed using conceptual analysis to make sense of the argument. The study is structured to explain what decoloniality is in relation to decoloniality of the minds, the assumptions, and its correlational evidence with the deradicalisation of student unrest. The findings revealed that disrupting colonial ideologies, knowledge reclamation, changing discourse structures, and decolonising practices are dimensions needed to decolonise student mindset towards deradicalisation of student unrest. The study concludes that these dimensions are the potential for peace and tranquility in the university system.

University system in Nigeria has been characterised by persistent social unrest majorly traceable to strained relationships between students and university authorities. Observations, experiences and literature confirmed that student unrest in the universities had become a compulsory devil affecting the speedy actualisation of university goals and objectives. The need to dismantle the social space for relative peace and tranquillity thereof become expedient. The study aims to redefine students-university authority relationships as a tool to deconstruct social unrest in Nigeria universities. Human Relations Theory of Management (HRTM) was used to theorise the study. Transformative paradigm as a stance to emancipate the existing unrest situation was used to lens the study. Participatory Action Research (PAR) was adopted as a research design for the study. The sample size for this study consists of 10 participants, namely, three students' leaders; one past student leaders, three university management members, two lecturers and two security personnel selected using expert sampling techniques. The Focused Group Discussion (FGD) was used to collect data from the participants, and the data collected were analysed using Socio-thematic Analysis. The study revealed that inadequate funding was a significant challenge resulting in student unrest. In contrast, the provision of Students' Personnel Services coupled with modern maintenance culture, transparency and accountability were found to be the dimension of peaceful university operation devoid of social unrest and therefore becomes a tool to deconstruct the strained relationship between students and university authorities.

<em>Observations, practical experiences and literature confirmed that students&rsquo; oriented crisis, unrest and protest continue unabated in the university system. Despite so much concerted efforts by the universities, scholars and government to ameliorate this, it seems the university authorities are not cognisance of some threatening social and human factors that could enhance the management of the persistent student unrest. In order to respond to this, the study provided answer to the following question; how can the threat associated with management of student unrest in university system be unmasked to pave way for smooth university operation devoid of social unrest? The study was underpinned by Ubuntu and lensed by Transformative Paradigm (TP). Participatory Action research design was adopted with the use of Focused Group Discussion (FGD) as a method of data collection from 8 selected university stakeholders. Socio-thematic Analysis (StA) was used to analyse the data. The study found out that campus environmentalism and drug abuse were the major threats while the uninterrupted university productivity and students&rsquo; academic performance were found to be resultant effect of managing the threats. To this end, the study concluded that Ubuntu-like management style will enhance the management of threats hindering the university peace and tranquillity. </em>

<strong>Abstract</strong> <em>Observations, practical experiences and literature confirm that students&rsquo; oriented crisis, unrest and protest continue unabated in the university system. Despite so much concerted efforts by universities, scholars and government to ameliorate this, it seems the university authorities are not cognisance of some threatening social and human factors that could enhance the management of the persistent student unrest. To respond to this, the study provided an answer to the following question; how can the threat associated with management of student unrest in university system be unmasked to pave way for smooth university operation devoid of social unrest? The study was underpinned by Ubuntu and lensed by Transformative Paradigm (TP). The Participatory Action research design was adopted with the use of Focused Group Discussion (FGD) as a method of data collection from eight selected university stakeholders. Socio-thematic Analysis (StA) was used to analyse the data. The study found out that campus environmentalism and drug abuse were the major threats while uninterrupted university productivity and students&rsquo; academic performance were found to be the resultant effect of managing the threats. To this end, the study concluded that the Ubuntu-like management style will enhance the management of threats hindering university peace and tranquillity. </em>

School unrest is a concern worldwide today. Kisii County has not been spared. Reports indicated that in 2017, students at Kisii high school went on rampage. In the year 2018, Kisii high school students and Botoro ELCK high school students went on strike thus damaging properties. Further reports indicated that in 2021, Kisii County had 7 cases of unrest compared to Migori County which had 2 cases, Bomet County 3 cases and Kericho County 5 cases. Despite these cases of student unrest, not much had been done in establishing mechanisms that schools used to address issues that contributed to student unrest. The objective of this study therefore was to establish mechanisms schools use to address issues that contribute to student unrest in secondary schools in Kisii County, Kenya. The study was based on Social Control Theory by Ivan Nye (1958), which put emphasis on the importance of the learning environment. When the learning environment is not conducive it will trigger chaos. Descriptive survey research design was used. The target population was 30,955 form two students and 350 class teachers. Yamane&#39;s formula was used to determine the sample size of 395 students while stratified random sampling was used to determine a sample size of 105 class teachers. Questionnaire and interview schedule were used to collect data. A pilot study was carried out among 40 students and 35 class teachers using test- retest method of reliability. Reliability coefficient index of the instruments was determined at .78. Face and content validity of the instruments were ascertained by experts. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in form of frequencies and percentages while qualitative data was transcribed and reported in an ongoing process as themes and sub-themes emerged. Findings indicated that the key mechanism used by schools to address unrest was, ensuring students adhered to the school rules (96%), followed by sensitization of students on the importance of adhering to school rules and regulations (94.7%), ensuring that there is adequate safety at school (94.7%) and punishing students who violate the school rules (94.1%). The least mechanism used by schools in addressing unrest was, involving students in making school rules (0%). It was concluded that adhering to school rules by the students is the key mechanism used by schools in addressing issues contributing to student unrest. The study recommends that student be involved in making school rules. This finding is useful to the school administrators and the Ministry of Education in shedding light on the importance of involving students in making school rules.

Student conflicts in secondary schools are one of the most common challenges faced in the 21st century in the modern world. Kenya has faced several incidents of student conflicts in Secondary schools mainly attributed to the cases of indiscipline and conflicts among students in the schools. In Kericho County, several incidences of student conflicts have been witnessed in the different schools, which have caused widespread material losses and other social impacts. The Specific objective was to examine the nature of Student Unrest in secondary schools in Kericho County. The study was underpinned by participative leadership theory and the functionalism theory. The study utilized the evaluation research design. The study was conducted in Kericho County. The study targetedthe following categories of respondents; students, teachers, school principals or head teachers, School boards of management, County director of education and Sub-county directors of education in Kericho county. Only 14% of the respondents agreed that there have been incidences of unrest in their schools within the last 3 years. However, this number is high considering the harm that the unrest causes. Manifestation of student unrest is usually through burning of dorms, fighting among students, boycotting classes, theft of school property, refusing punishment, bullying and striking against school administration. The causes of students include changes in government policies, poor administrative skills, congestion, inadequate and poor food quality, social media and political agitations.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Toledo, 2010.<br>Typescript. "Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Education Degree in Higher Education." "A thesis entitled"--at head of title. Title from title page of PDF document. Bibliography: p. 96-109.

North Texas State University and the surrounding Denton community enjoyed a quiet college atmosphere throughout most of the 1960s. With the retirement of President J. C. Matthews in 1968, however, North Texas began witnessing the issues most commonly associated with the turbulent decade, such as the struggle for civil rights, the anti-Vietnam War movement, the fight for student rights on campus, and the emergence of the Counterculture. Over the last two years of the decade, North Texas State University and the surrounding community dealt directly with the 1960s and, under the astute leadership of President John J. Kamerick, successfully endured trying times.

Higher education in post-independence Kenya from 1963 to 2009 has been characterized by rapid expansion - both in terms of student enrolment and in a sharp increase in the number of both private and public universities. While national and institutional mechanisms, such as the establishment of a revolving fund, the Higher Education Loans Board and the introduction of the Privately Sponsored Students Programme, have been initiated to address the sharp demand for higher education against a backdrop of diminishing financial support, violent student unrest - which seriously undermined these efforts - has persisted. A sustained period of student unrest has characterized Kenya‟s higher education. This has manifested itself in the form of violent protests, riots, boycotts and strikes. Statistics indicate that the intensity/frequency and violence of the strikes has steadily increased over the years. For example, between 1969 and 2000 sixty-nine cases of student strikes were recorded at all the public universities. Of these cases, twenty-two (31.88%) occurred within a time span of 20 years (1969-1989) while forty-seven cases (68.12%) occurred in a short period of just one decade (1990-2000).At Moi University twenty-four cases of strikes, which affected its colleges and campuses, were recorded between 1985 and 2009. In terms of radical policy adaptation at both national and institutional levels, one would expect a downward trend in unrest. Instead, however, the frequency and intensity of violence associated with strikes has increased at an alarming rate with several deaths being reported. As such, this study has investigated the factors that have contributed to, and informed, a sustained period of student unrest with a specific focus on Moi University in order to identify policy lessons. Global, national and institutional aspects were examined. A case study strategy was applied - with Moi University as its focus. Data was collected through an in-depth review of the relevant literature, document analysis and interviews. Past and present senior management staff members at Moi University, including Deans of Faculties, Deans of Students, Heads of Departments, and Heads of Sections as well as former student leaders were interviewed. The study concludes in its findings that the university is operating within a highly dynamic and unstable social-political environment, leading to the emergence of inadequate policy adaptations. The resultant shortcomings in the operations of the university attract the wrath of an informed student population in the form of unrest. The students action is not however simply reactionary, as they too, as change agents have their own agenda that evolves over time as they seize opportunities created by the policy shortcomings to pursue it. The study summarized the salient factors responsible for the violent unrest in five broad thematic areas. These include: (i) Unrest associated with flawed international and national policies and social pressure; (ii) Unrest associated with critical national issues and identification with progressive change agents; (iii) Unrest associated with student politics;(iv) Unrest associated with social identity and threats of their welfare from organized groups; and (v) Unrest associated with the prevalence of institutional catalyzing factors. A typical strike develops through four main phases: (i) The development/ brewing phase; (ii) The heightened tension phase; (iii) The full blown strike phase; and (iv) The dissipation/uneasy calm phase. Organizational disequilibrium describes the general state of instability characterizing the university, while organizational paranoia is associated with instances of devastating strikes during a heightened tension phase. A strike matrix of Spontaneous vs Orchestrated and Flash vs Protracted typify the strikes. Unrest has led to the disruption of academic programmes; the destruction of property and deaths; a loss of critical study time; and damage to students‟ careers caused by suspensions and expulsions. The need for a well-considered policy that involves exhaustive consultation with all the stake-holders emerges as critical for the future stability of universities.<br>Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013.<br>am2013<br>Education Management and Policy Studies<br>unrestricted

AbstractIn an era of global challenges – from climate change to economic unrest to social disruption to pandemics – the need to hear from voices of the next generation of leaders is clear. The time to listen to them is now. The purpose of this book is to assemble, organize, and amplify the knowledge and experiences of some of the world’s young people who are working locally and collectively to use scientific results, geospatial technologies, and multi-national collaboration to address some of the most pressing issues facing their local communities and global society. From every region of the world, students have emerged as leaders in the YouthMappers movement, to study such problems by creating and using open data that has a spatial component. The issues they are addressing with these common tools and methods range across the entire scope of topics known as the Sustainable Development Goals, articulated globally through the United Nations. Not only do YouthMappers create new knowledge and bring unique perspectives and experiences, but they are also proposing and taking action based upon what they see and what they know from the map and from each other.

Since the Anti-Extradition Law Social Movement in 2019, Hong Kong has entered an era of socio-political instability. The conflict between student protestants and the government has become increasingly intense, whereas several universities even became the battlefield of the protest and were abruptly shut down in November 2019. To add fuel to the fire, the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 has prompted all universities in the territory to suspend all face-to-face classes and activities for two semesters. All these have impacted university students in Hong Kong socially, academically and psychologically.In light of this, this study aims to explore the ways to which the learning experience of university students in Hong Kong have been impacted by the socio-political challenges. Through conducting a mixed-methods study at a public university in Hong Kong, it was found that university have a high perceived level of stress, high political involvements, unsatisfactory learning experience and poor learning motivation under this socio-political instability. It is hoped that this study can provide informed insights for teachers to understand students’ burdens, stresses, and emotional instability associated with socio-political unrest.

I am conducting an autoethnographic study on the narratives of female academics of colour in the post-student protest era. I am interested in exploring how women of colour navigate this space, the progress made through the unrest, and the remaining obstacles. Autoethnography is a research and writing approach that aims to describe and analyse personal experiences to gain a broader understanding of cultural and social experiences. This approach challenges colonial research practices and aims to represent others in a more politically, socially just, and conscious manner. The concept of hauntology, as explained by Derrida (1994), suggests that socio-economic and political phenomena such as apartheid, racism, inequality, and injustice are not dead but continue to have a lingering impact on our existence. My connection to these ghosts’ dates back over 300 years, to the arrival of the first slave ships from India and Ceylon. These ghosts have been with me throughout my life, from my mother's womb through my upbringing, education, and now my academic career. In the current emotionally charged debates surrounding coloured identity, my goal is to explore how a group of female academics of colour engage with these ghosts from our past and how they can be utilised to navigate these still troubled spaces. By intertwining my growth stories with black feminist theory, particularly the concepts of respectability politics, anger, and creative resistance, I will illustrate what becomes possible in our academic and personal lives when we embrace, welcome, and liberate our ghosts.

In post pandemic times when looking forward to the normality is the focus of everyone's attention, research areas abound in papers spinning around the same topic- COVID-19. From disinformation to a mired economy, to the effects on global mobility, education, health, social and political aspects, all papers observe, analyze, count and draw conclusions on what COVID-19 meant for the whole world. Studies vary from a national level approach to the international, continental and global, with a specialist or generalist approach, from analyses on figures from economy and tourism to lexical analyses on occurrences of news topics or frequently used words, to measure society in terms of psychological unrest and confidence, after an invariable introductory section about the context and time COVID-19 first started and where it initiated, to stages of the virus spread and sectors affected. Looked at on the long term, education along with general and mental health are among the most frequently brought under lenses mainly due to the long term isolation consequences on social evolution. In this context, the present paper aims at highlighting the need for a recalibration of the educational process, to tune in with a virtual area, to accommodate a differently represented type of student and a variety of pedagogical approaches to adapt the syllabus and tailor activities to facilitate learning in an environment which has been recently re-purposed to fit and last, to answer and to teach. The universal tool-bag is extremely generous, the technological support products are abundant in apps designed for educational purposes, while the key to set it all in motion is creativity, attention to students' needs, a proper selection of the pedagogical resorts and of the content, in a close combination with specificities of online communication in such contexts. A comparison will be drawn between two apps used for formal synchronous learning, three types of students, and four components in class management, all having one goal, the knowledge transfer.

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides the results of the preliminary analysis of the findings of an ongoing study that seeks to examine the social media use, cultural and political awareness, civic engagement, issue prioritization, and social activism of Gen Z students enrolled at four different institutional types located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The aim of this study is to look at the group as a whole as well as compare findings across populations. The institutional types under consideration include a mid-sized majority serving or otherwise referred to as a traditionally white institution (TWI) located in a small coastal city on the Atlantic Ocean, a small Historically Black University (HBCU) located in a rural area, a large community college located in a county that is a mixture of rural and suburban and which sits on the border of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and graduating high school students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs in a large urban area. This exploration is purposed to examine the behaviors and expectations of Gen Z students within a representative American region during a time of tremendous turmoil and civil unrest in the United States. Background: Over 74 million strong, Gen Z makes up almost one-quarter of the U.S. population. They already outnumber any current living generation and are the first true digital natives. Born after 1996 and through 2012, they are known for their short attention spans and heightened ability to multi-task. Raised in the age of the smart phone, they have been tethered to digital devices from a young age with most having the preponderance of their childhood milestones commemorated online. Often called Zoomers, they are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation and are on track to be the most well-educated generation in history. Gen Zers in the United States have been found in the research to be progressive and pro-government and viewing increasing racial and ethnic diversity as positive change. Finally, they are less likely to hold xenophobic beliefs such as the notion of American exceptionalism and superiority that have been popular with by prior generations. The United States has been in a period of social and civil unrest in recent years with concerns over systematic racism, rampant inequalities, political polarization, xenophobia, police violence, sexual assault and harassment, and the growing epidemic of gun violence. Anxieties stirred by the COVID-19 pandemic further compounded these issues resulting in a powder keg explosion occurring throughout the summer of 2020 and leading well into 2021. As a result, the United States has deteriorated significantly in the Civil Unrest Index falling from 91st to 34th. The vitriol, polarization, protests, murders, and shootings have all occurred during Gen Z’s formative years, and the limited research available indicates that it has shaped their values and political views. Methodology: The Mid-Atlantic region is a portion of the United States that exists as the overlap between the northeastern and southeastern portions of the country. It includes the nation’s capital, as well as large urban centers, small cities, suburbs, and rural enclaves. It is one of the most socially, economically, racially, and culturally diverse parts of the United States and is often referred to as the “typically American region.” An electronic survey was administered to students from 2019 through 2021 attending a high school dual enrollment program, a minority serving institution, a majority serving institution, and a community college all located within the larger mid-Atlantic region. The survey included a combination of multiple response, Likert scaled, dichotomous, open ended, and ordinal questions. It was developed in the Survey Monkey system and reviewed by several content and methodological experts in order to examine bias, vagueness, or potential semantic problems. Finally, the survey was pilot tested prior to implementation in order to explore the efficacy of the research methodology. It was then modified accordingly prior to widespread distribution to potential participants. The surveys were administered to students enrolled in classes taught by the authors all of whom are educators. Participation was voluntary, optional, and anonymous. Over 800 individuals completed the survey with just over 700 usable results, after partial completes and the responses of individuals outside of the 18-24 age range were removed. Findings: Participants in this study overwhelmingly were users of social media. In descending order, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Tik Tok were the most popular social media services reported as being used. When volume of use was considered, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter were the most cited with most participants reporting using Instagram and Snapchat multiple times a day. When asked to select which social media service they would use if forced to choose just one, the number one choice was YouTube followed by Instagram and Snapchat. Additionally, more than half of participants responded that they have uploaded a video to a video sharing site such as YouTube or Tik Tok. When asked about their familiarity with different technologies, participants overwhelmingly responded that they are “very familiar” with smart phones, searching the Web, social media, and email. About half the respondents said that they were “very familiar” with common computer applications such as the Microsoft Office Suite or Google Suite with another third saying that they were “somewhat familiar.” When asked about Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard, Course Compass, Canvas, Edmodo, Moodle, Course Sites, Google Classroom, Mindtap, Schoology, Absorb, D2L, itslearning, Otus, PowerSchool, or WizIQ, only 43% said they were “very familiar” with 31% responding that they were “somewhat familiar.” Finally, about half the students were either “very” or “somewhat” familiar with operating systems such as Windows. A few preferences with respect to technology in the teaching and learning process were explored in the survey. Most students (85%) responded that they want course announcements and reminders sent to their phones, 76% expect their courses to incorporate the use of technology, 71% want their courses to have course websites, and 71% said that they would rather watch a video than read a book chapter. When asked to consider the future, over 81% or respondents reported that technology will play a major role in their future career. Most participants considered themselves “informed” or “well informed” about current events although few considered themselves “very informed” or “well informed” about politics. When asked how they get their news, the most common forum reported for getting news and information about current events and politics was social media with 81% of respondents reporting. Gen Z is known to be an engaged generation and the participants in this study were not an exception. As such, it came as no surprise to discover that, in the past year more than 78% of respondents had educated friends or family about an important social or political issue, about half (48%) had donated to a cause of importance to them, more than a quarter (26%) had participated in a march or rally, and a quarter (26%) had actively boycotted a product or company. Further, about 37% consider themselves to be a social activist with another 41% responding that aren’t sure if they would consider themselves an activist and only 22% saying that they would not consider themselves an activist. When asked what issues were important to them, the most frequently cited were Black Lives Matter (75%), human trafficking (68%), sexual assault/harassment/Me Too (66.49%), gun violence (65.82%), women’s rights (65.15%), climate change (55.4%), immigration reform/deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) (48.8%), and LGBTQ+ rights (47.39%). When the schools were compared, there were only minor differences in social media use with the high school students indicating slightly more use of Tik Tok than the other participants. All groups were virtually equal when it came to how informed they perceived themselves about current events and politics. Consensus among groups existed with respect to how they get their news, and the community college and high school students were slightly more likely to have participated in a march, protest, or rally in the last 12 months than the university students. The community college and high school students were also slightly more likely to consider themselves social activists than the participants from either of the universities. When the importance of the issues was considered, significant differences based on institutional type were noted. Black Lives Matter (BLM) was identified as important by the largest portion of students attending the HBCU followed by the community college students and high school students. Less than half of the students attending the TWI considered BLM an important issue. Human trafficking was cited as important by a higher percentage of students attending the HBCU and urban high school than at the suburban and rural community college or the TWI. Sexual assault was considered important by the majority of students at all the schools with the percentage a bit smaller from the majority serving institution. About two thirds of the students at the high school, community college, and HBCU considered gun violence important versus about half the students at the majority serving institution. Women’s rights were reported as being important by more of the high school and HBCU participants than the community college or TWI. Climate change was considered important by about half the students at all schools with a slightly smaller portion reporting out the HBCU. Immigration reform/DACA was reported as important by half the high school, community college, and HBCU participants with only a third of the students from the majority serving institution citing it as an important issue. With respect to LGBTQ rights approximately half of the high school and community college participants cited it as important, 44.53% of the HBCU students, and only about a quarter of the students attending the majority serving institution. Contribution and Conclusion: This paper provides a timely investigation into the mindset of generation Z students living in the United States during a period of heightened civic unrest. This insight is useful to educators who should be informed about the generation of students that is currently populating higher education. The findings of this study are consistent with public opinion polls by Pew Research Center. According to the findings, the Gen Z students participating in this study are heavy users of multiple social media, expect technology to be integrated into teaching and learning, anticipate a future career where technology will play an important role, informed about current and political events, use social media as their main source for getting news and information, and fairly engaged in social activism. When institutional type was compared the students from the university with the more affluent and less diverse population were less likely to find social justice issues important than the other groups. Recommendations for Practitioners: During disruptive and contentious times, it is negligent to think that the abounding issues plaguing society are not important to our students. Gauging the issues of importance and levels of civic engagement provides us crucial information towards understanding the attitudes of students. Further, knowing how our students gain information, their social media usage, as well as how informed they are about current events and political issues can be used to more effectively communicate and educate. Recommendations for Researchers: As social media continues to proliferate daily life and become a vital means of news and information gathering, additional studies such as the one presented here are needed. Additionally, in other countries facing similarly turbulent times, measuring student interest, awareness, and engagement is highly informative. Impact on Society: During a highly contentious period replete with a large volume of civil unrest and compounded by a global pandemic, understanding the behaviors and attitudes of students can help us as higher education faculty be more attuned when it comes to the design and delivery of curriculum. Future Research This presentation presents preliminary findings. Data is still being collected and much more extensive statistical analyses will be performed.

One of the most challenging and maybe most important tasks of working as a professor and instructor is creating a purposeful and engaging curriculum program. To convey the right theoretical information and practical knowledge, professors go through an iterative process of learning through self- education, teaching, correcting, and adjusting their teaching approach. One must embark on the journey of self-discovery, proper communication, and willingness to change and adapt the curriculum to meet the requirements of industry standards, students, and technology. This paper aims to give insight into the iterative process of creating a curriculum program and practical tasks for students in the third year of Graphic Engineering and Design studies on the subject of Computer Games. Also, the process of transferring skills, acquired by working as an instructor for Unreal Engine and Unreal Editor for Fortnite and collaborating with the game designers, in the classroom will be discussed. As a result of this paper, some guidelines for designing curriculum programs for teaching game design and game development are proposed.

This work aimed to develop an immersive experience simulating an authentic criminal forensics situation and observe student perceptions. A detailed pre-production phase created the VR scenario using a real case for reference. The experience was built with Unreal Engine and was applied in a postgraduate course. All respondents found the experience immersive and motivating, aiding their learning. Minor usability issues were reported, but no significant adverse effects like nausea or dizziness occurred.

[This Proceedings paper was revised and published in the Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Skills and Lifelong Learning (IJELL)] Aim/Purpose: The teaching solution presented in this paper was implemented to overcome the common problems encountered by authors during years of practice of applied business studies teaching. Background: In our school, we have deep multicultural environments where both teachers and students are coming from different countries and cultures. The typical problems encountered with students include: not reading the case studies, language problems, different backgrounds and cultures, a different understanding of leadership in teamwork related to various management traditions, lack of student participation, and engagement in teamwork. Methodology: The above problems were solved on the basis of the novelty use of several tools usually used separately: a combination of case studies with visualization and current representation of knowledge related to the case study. The visualization context is provided by “rich picture” (as a part of SSM methodology) to create a shared understanding among students. Another ingredient of the proposed solution is based on Pacific storytelling tradition and the Pacific methodology of solving problems. Contribution: It was suggested the new delivery model strengthening advantages of case studies. Findings Studies and surveys made from 2009 to the present are promising. There is a visible improvement in students’ grades and observed changes in students’ behavior toward more active in-class participation. Recommendations for Practitioners: This paper focuses on implementation and technical aspects of the presented method. However, the application of the presented method needs robust and time-consuming preparation of the teacher before the class. Recommendation for Researchers: The current results show that the proposed method has the potential to improve students’ experience in applied business courses. The project is ongoing and will undergo progressive changes while collecting new experiences. The method may be applied to other types of courses. By focusing on the storytelling and rich picture, we avoid technological bias when we teach business problem-solving. We focus instead on teaching students the social-organizational interactions influencing the problem solution. Impact on Society Implementing of cultural sensitivity into the teaching process. Making teaching process more attractive for multicultural students. Future Research: Reducing teacher overload when using the method presented by the development of computerized tools. This is undergoing through utilizing Unreal Engine. Also, it is planned to enhance our team by artists and designers related to computer games.

With increasing social pressure, the youth population in colleges and universities generally faces increasingly severe negative emotional problems, which not only affect academic performance but also significantly reduce the quality of daily life. In response to this challenge, numerous educational institutions have established psychological healing rooms to provide emotional support and stress management services. However, existing psychological healing spaces often fail to achieve the expected healing effects and affect student engagement due to a lack of sufficient privacy and interactivity. To address this issue, this study proposes a virtual psychological healing space design based on the audiovisual fusion effect, aiming to improve students' emotional regulation and mental health management by enhancing privacy and interactivity. The design prototype incorporates four natural environments: water and sky, woodland and sky, grassland and sky, and elemental uniform distribution environments. Each environment is paired with customized Lofi music to enhance the healing effect through a multi-sensory experience. Additionally, by utilizing Unreal Engine's dynamic sky and weather simulation system for natural light, real-time transitions between four lighting environments (early morning, midday, dusk, and night) were achieved in virtual reality to explore the specific effects of light intensity on emotion regulation. This study surveyed 30 college student participants to collect the subjective effects of environmental lighting on emotions in a virtual healing space through semi-structured interviews. This study demonstrates that varying lighting conditions have a significant impact on participants' emotional states. It underscores the critical necessity of customizing lighting to accommodate the specific needs of users in the design of virtual healing spaces, thereby minimizing the influence of inter-individual differences on therapeutic outcomes. The results of this study provide an empirical basis for designing virtual healing spaces and are expected to offer a theoretical reference and practical basis for implementing personalized healing strategies in virtual environments.

MGR recorded 1503 violent incidents during March 2024, mostly triggered by politics, access to resources, and other socio-economic factors. More than 242 deaths and 2698 injuries have been recorded from these incidents. The highest number of violent incidents have been recorded in the form of clashes and attacks (426). Some 153 incidents are directly political violence, protests and arrests which resulted in 16 deaths. Geographically, Chittagong (351) scores the highest number of violence followed by Dhaka (306), Rajshahi (244) and Barishal (213). There were 86 protests and demonstrations and only 16 of protests were triggered by politics. While some 36.81% of political violence contributed by Bangladesh Awami League &amp; affiliates, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) scored only 2.08% of political violence in the month of March. Law and security forces conducted 6.94% of political violence. Intra-party violence within the Awami League showed a small count of 16. Whereas 52% political incidents were rural, 38% of political violence incidents took place in urban areas. After the election, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) experienced a noticeable decrease in its active involvement, mainly due to the government's strengthened control over state mechanisms. Nevertheless, they are attempting to mobilize their supporters by spearheading a movement advocating the boycott of Indian products. Furthermore, unrest is going on among general students at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in opposition to the Bangladesh Chattro League's endeavors to reintroduce politics into the BUET campus.