In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly entered the social sphere, including higher education. However, not all cultures perceive it in the same way. This comparative empirical study analyzes how students from two religiously homogeneous countries: Uzbekistan (predominantly Muslim) and Poland (predominantly Catholic) perceive AI in general and as a learning tool. Unlike most studies that focus on technical access or digital literacy, this paper examines the perception of AI from the perspective of historically shaped religious and cultural traditions after the collapse of the Soviet system. The study put forward and tested a research meta-hypothesis: historically shaped cultural and religious traditions should have a statistically significant effect on the perception of Artificial Intelligence by students from Muslim and Catholic countries. We used a standardized Likert-scale survey. The sample consisted of 439 undergraduate students (not majoring in IT). Professional and gender biases were excluded to focus on cultural and religious variables. The z-test at the 90% confidence level was used to test the four key hypotheses. The results showed AI than students from Poland. This difference in perception applies to AI both in general and in the educational context. This difference reflects stable ideas about knowledge, traditions and technological progress. The obtained results have theoretical implications and practical significance .
Rapid digital transformation has reshaped banking systems worldwide, positioning financial technology adoption as a strategic driver of performance. This study investigates the impact of financial technology adoption on the financial performance of commercial banks in Association of Southeast Asian Nations economies. A quantitative research design is employed using an unbalanced bank-level panel dataset covering the period 2015-2023. The analysis applies a dynamic panel estimation framework based on the system generalized method of moments to address endogeneity, unobserved heterogeneity, and performance persistence. Financial technology adoption is operationalized through a composite index derived from digital service provision, mobile usage intensity, and technology investment. The empirical results demonstrate that greater adoption significantly improves profitability indicators while reducing operational inefficiency. These effects remain robust across alternative model specifications and diagnostic tests, indicating sustained performance gains associated with digital capability development. The findings support innovation diffusion arguments emphasizing efficiency, scalability, and observable performance benefits. Overall, financial technology adoption emerges as a critical mechanism for strengthening bank competitiveness and resilience in emerging financial systems. The study provides actionable insights for strategic investment prioritization and adaptive regulatory design aimed at fostering stable and inclusive digital financial ecosystems .
This study examines how platform infrastructures, algorithmic visibility structures, and commercial logics reshape folkloric practices in digital meme communities. It investigates whether these communities reflect traditional folklore transposed online or represent algorithmically constituted cultural formations with transformed dynamics. Using a digital ethnographic approach, the research participants were 342 members of Reddit, Twitter, and TikTok who actively participate in meme culture. Data were gathered through online surveys, a contextual meme-evaluation task using 480 trending memes, and semi-structured interviews with 72 participants. Quantitative data were analysed using MANOVA and logistic regression, while qualitative data were analysed using constructivist grounded theory and thematic coding. Findings show that platforms actively shape cultural authority, aesthetic conventions, and community autonomy, with creators deploying strategies such as aesthetic gatekeeping, platform migration, and ironic subversion. The study theorizes platform-mediated folk culture as a hybrid system where community validation, algorithmic amplification and reflexive meta-cultural awareness transform traditional folkloric mechanisms under commercially extractive conditions .
Workplace ostracism (WO) poses a critical challenge for organizations, undermining employee well-being and overall effectiveness. This study examines how ambidextrous leadership (AL), characterized by the balanced use of exploration and exploitation behaviors, reduces WO through the mediating function of psychological well-being (PW). The research is grounded in Leader-Member Exchange theory and Affective Events Theory, which emphasize the relational and emotional dynamics between leaders and employees and provide a foundation for understanding how leadership behaviors influence perceptions of inclusion and well-being. A quantitative research design was employed, drawing on survey data from 325 employees across various industries. Validated scales measuring AL, WO, and PW were administered through an online questionnaire. The results reveal a significant negative association between AL and WO, with PW appearing as a partial mediator. This suggests that AL not only directly reduces feelings of exclusion but also indirectly influences ostracism by fostering employee well-being. Overall, the study underlines the importance of AL in creating psychologically supportive work environments and contributes to organizational behavior literature by clarifying the mechanisms through which leadership can mitigate WO and enhance employee well-being.
Higher religious education in T & uuml;rkiye has developed along a complex historical path, beginning with the Suffa and madrasas and later becoming institutionalized within Faculties of Theology. Across these stages, the mission has remained the preservation of Islamic knowledge, moral guidance, and cultural continuity. Despite repeated reforms, many structural and curricular problems identified in earlier eras persist. This study seeks to examine the historical evolution of higher religious education and identify its persistent structural deficiencies on Turkiye's transformation. The study uses comparative historical document analysis to examine key reform texts, including reports by Ali Fuat Ba & scedil;gil and Hamidullah (1969) alongside later works edited by Aky & uuml;rek (2015) and Seyma Alt & imath;n (2021). AI-supported tools assisted in organizing and coding themes, while interpretation and validation remained the responsibility of the authors. The findings show persistent debates on curriculum design, academic formation, and theology's social discussions place stronger emphasis on digitalization, interdisciplinarity, and expanding professional roles. The study concludes that change in Turkiye's higher religious education largely occurs through reinterpretation of inherited frameworks rather than fundamental institutional breaks, contributing to international debates on continuity and transformation in specialized higher education .
