Over the past decade, the integration of technology, particularly gamification, has initiated a substantial transformation within the field of education. However, educators frequently confront the challenge of identifying suitable competitive game-based learning platforms amidst the growing emphasis on cultivating creativity within the classroom and effectively integrating technology into pedagogical practices. The current study examines students and faculty continuous intention to use gamification in higher education. The data was collected through an online survey with a sample size of 763 Pakistani respondents from various universities around Pakistan. The structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data and to investigate how continuous intention to use gamification is influenced by, extended TAM model with inclusion of variables such as task technology fit, social influence, social recognition and hedonic motivation. The results have shown that task technology has no significant influence on perceived usefulness (PU) where as it has a significant influence on perceived ease of use (PEOU). Social influence (SI) indicates no significant influence on perceived ease of use. Social recognition (SR) indicates positive influence on perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and continuous intention. The dimensional analysis indicated that perceived ease of use has insignificant influence on perceived usefulness. Both PEOU and PU exhibit positive influence on attitude. Hedonic motivation (HM) and attitude were observed to have a positive influence on continuous intention (CI). Moreover, gamification is found to efficiently and effectively achieve meaningful goals by tapping intrinsic motivation of the users through engaging them in playful experiences.

The efficiencies and performance of gas turbine cycles are highly dependent on parameters such as the turbine inlet temperature (TIT), compressor inlet temperature (T1), and pressure ratio (Rc). This study analyzed the effects of these parameters on the energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, and specific fuel consumption (SFC) of a simple gas turbine cycle. The analysis found that increasing the TIT leads to higher efficiencies and lower SFC, while increasing the To or Rc results in lower efficiencies and higher SFC. For a TIT of 1400 ℃, T1 of 20 ℃, and Rc of 8, the energy and exergy efficiencies were 32.75% and 30.9%, respectively, with an SFC of 187.9 g/kWh. However, for a TIT of 900 ℃, T1 of 30 ℃, and Rc of 30, the energy and exergy efficiencies dropped to 13.18% and 12.44%, respectively, while the SFC increased to 570.3 g/kWh. The results show that there are optimal combinations of TIT, To, and Rc that maximize performance for a given application. Designers must consider trade-offs between efficiency, emissions, cost, and other factors to optimize gas turbine cycles. Overall, this study provides data and insights to improve the design and operation of simple gas turbine cycles.

This study examined the factors influencing online purchases among consumers in Bangladesh, employing a modified version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Data from 353 individuals in Bangladesh revealed that perceived ease of use, social influence, security, convenience, trust, emotional experience, and functional experience significantly positively affect the intention to purchase online. Additionally, results show that the intention to purchase online significantly positively affects actual online purchases. Findings further highlighted that intention to make online purchases mediated the influence of perceived ease of use, social influence, security, convenience, trust, emotional experience, and functional experience over online purchases. The study provides significant practical recommendations to help businesses and consumers support online purchasing with diverse advantages.

This research article examines the relationship between the level of social welfare expenditure and economic growth rates, based on unbalanced panel data from 38 OECD countries covering the period from 1985 to 2022. Four hypotheses are formulated regarding the impact of social expenditure on economic growth rates. Through multiple iterations of regression model building, employing various combinations of dependent and independent variables, and conducting tests for stationarity and causality, compelling empirical evidence was obtained on the negative influence of social welfare spending on economic growth rates. The study takes into account both government and non-governmental expenditures on social welfare, a novelty in this field. This approach allows for a detailed examination of the effects of different components on economic growth and provides a more comprehensive understanding of the relationships. The findings indicate that countries with high levels of social welfare spending experience a slowdown in economic growth rates. This is associated with increasing demands on social security systems, their growing inclusivity, and the escalating required levels of financing, which are increasingly covered by debt sources. The research highlights the need to strike a balance between social expenditures and economic growth rates and proposes a set of measures to ensure economic growth outpaces the indexing of social expenditures. The abstract underscores the relevance of the study in light of the widespread recognition of the necessity to combat inequality, poverty, and destitution, and calls on OECD countries’ governments to pay increased attention to social policy in order to achieve sustainable and balanced economic growth.

The objectives achieved in the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dependence on fossil fuels have caused, in recent years, a growing importance on sustainability in companies in order to reduce Environmental, social and economic impacts. This study is focused on understanding how the variation in West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices affects the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and therefore the companies included in it, and vice versa. The research aims to examine the statistical properties of both indices, using fractional integration methods, the fractional cointegration vector autoregressive (FCVAR) approach and the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) technique. The results warn of a change in trend, with the application of extraordinary measures being necessary to return to the original trend, while the analysis of cointegration and wavelet analysis measures reflect that an increase in those adopted based on sustainability by the different companies that make up the index imply a drop in the price of crude oil.

The main objective of this article is to analyze the relationship between increases in freight costs and inflation in the markets due to the increases reflected in the prices of the products in some economies in destination ports such as the United States, Europe, Japan, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand and South Korea. We use fractionally integrated methods and Granger causality test to calculate the correlation between these indicators. The results indicate that, after a significant drop in inflation in 2020, probably due to the confinement caused by the pandemic, the increases observed in inflation and freight costs are expected to be transitory given their stationary behavior. We also find a close correlation between both indicators in Europe, the United States and South Africa.