Hybrid learning (HL) has become a significant part of the learning style for the higher education sector in the Sri Lankan context amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis. This research study aims to discover the effectiveness of hybrid learning (EHL) practices in enhancing undergraduates’ outcomes in Sri Lankan Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) management faculties. The data for the study were gathered through an online questionnaire survey, which received 379 responses. The questionnaire contained 38 questions under four sections covering independent variables, excluding demographic questions. The results indicate that hybrid learner attitude, interaction, and benefits of hybrid learning positively impact the effectiveness of hybrid learning. The results remain consistent even after controlling for socio-demographic factors and focusing only on students employed during their higher education. The study concluded that employed students have a higher preference for the effectiveness of hybrid learning concepts, and the benefits of hybrid learning play a crucial role in enhancing the effectiveness among undergraduates. The study analyzes COVID-19’s impact on higher education, proposing hybrid learning and regulatory frameworks based on pandemic experiences while stressing the benefits of remote teaching and research.

Urban public spaces are the interface of any city that could tell about the city’s dynamic and status quo. In addition, Urban public spaces play a pivotal role in shaping societies’ dynamics and can significantly affect conflict and peacebuilding initiatives. In a context marked by Conflict’s profound impact, this article aims to contribute to the knowledge base for informed urban interventions that foster positive interactions and reconciliation in post-conflict cities. The article seeks to explore the intricate relationship between urban spaces and their influence on war or to promote sustainable peacebuilding through investigating the various roles of the urban public spaces during the war and peacetimes via residents’ experiences of the diverse spaces’ functions that shaped the city’s status quo. In addition, considering the interplay of social dynamics, conflict history, and the mental spatial map of cities in public urban spaces can influence lasting peace or upcoming conflicts. This article focuses on Aleppo as a case study, understanding the positive and negative experiences from the residents’ perspective before and during the current war in Syria, and even distinguishes between two periods during the recent war, which are the active violence and after the end of the direct active violence, where it could inform the decision-makers and urban planners on the areas of focus while developing post-war urban public spaces to ensure its positive role in fostering peace and be able to deal with the social dynamic and the mental spatial map that developed along with the conflict history. The paper utilised a mixed-methods approach, encompassing a case study review of Aleppo City from an urban perspective and fieldwork involving focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with Aleppian from different backgrounds and geographic areas that represent the social dynamic of the city, as well as approached Aleppian who are still in living in the city and those who flee out of it to ensure the coverage of different political direction in addition field work engaged with academia and technical from the city who shared their knowledge and experiences working in the city. Participants were prompted to reflect on their pre-war familiarity with public places and share their experiences. These experiences were categorized by enabling a comprehensive understanding of how conflict context influenced these spaces. The article results offer an understanding of the peace-guiding functions of the urban public spaces based on the city residents’ experiences that could inform architects and urban planners in designing spaces conducive to sustainable peacebuilding. The article’s findings underscore the importance of strategically designed urban public spaces in promoting peace and social cohesion.

The rapid progress of information technology has made public online participation in policy formulation an inevitable product of modern government reshaping and reconstruction. However, compared with developed countries, citizens’ online participation in policy formulation in China started relatively late. Thus, in order to explore an effective and efficient method for Chinese citizens’ participation in policy formulation, this research made a brief review of the experiences from the typical developed country of United States of America at first, followed by some other developed countries such as Singapore, South Korea, and Japan in Asia with similar situations. Still, combined with the current situation of the China itself into consideration, this research further proposes targeted recommendations. It is expected that the findings in this research could provide some references for the Chinese government to form more effective and efficient theoretical frameworks targeted at the future development trends of the Chinese society and accordingly, to improve the construction of democracy in China.

This study investigates the role of Chat-GPT with augmented reality applications in enhancing tourism experiences in Thailand, focusing on behavioral intentions and innovation adoption to reduce stress in the tourism industry. The research addresses two key objectives: identifying factors driving consumers’ behavioral intentions to adopt AR apps and evaluating the robustness of a modified innovation framework for analyzing these intentions. A conceptual model integrating innovativeness, attitudes, perceived enjoyment, and revisit intentions was developed and tested using Structural Equation Modeling with data from 430 Thai tourists who have one to three years of mobile application experience. The findings highlight that service and technology innovation significantly influence perceived enjoyment and attitude, which in turn mediate the impact on behavioral intention to adopt augmented reality applications. At a significance level of p < 0.001, perceived enjoyment and attitude were identified as critical determinants of BI, underscoring the importance of intrinsic user experiences. Tourists are more likely to adopt augmented reality technologies based on personal perceptions and enjoyment rather than external recommendations. This research provides actionable insights for stakeholders in the tourism technology ecosystem, including technology providers, marketers, and policymakers. By emphasizing the interplay of social, emotional, and hedonic factors in shaping user attitudes, the study introduces a robust framework for advancing augmented reality applications in tourism. The findings underscore the importance of user-centric design to drive technology adoption and offer strategic guidance for developers and entrepreneurs aiming to enhance tourism experiences through innovative augmented reality solutions.