ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts

AI INTEGRATION INTO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN AFRICA: NAVIGATING COMPLEXITIES, INCLUSION, AND INSTITUTIONAL GAPS

Michael K. Mickson, Timothy Kwabla Zilevu, Emmanuel Asamoah, Dr. Michael Kubi — Sat, 02 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study will discuss the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in the public administration of Africa by using three main strategic documents: E-Government Survey 2024, Ghana Digital Economy Policy and Strategy 2024, and the Continental AI Strategy 2024. The results indicate that although AI has become viewed as a revolutionary resource to enhance service delivery, efficiency in governance, and administrative responsibility, there is no concerted effort in adoption, and it is mainly policy-based rather than practice-based. The young African population is often described as a strategic resource in terms of AI-enabled innovation in the public sector, but a structural lack of STEM education, digital infrastructure, AI-related skills, and innovation ecosystems has limited the youth's preparedness a great deal. AI implementation has several ethical/regulatory gaps; this is primarily due to algorithmic bias, lack of data protection, and lack of accountability. These gaps pose formidable hurdles to promoting responsible AI use. The study, based on the frameworks of the Street-Level Bureaucracy and Technology Acceptance Model, reveals through a qualitative study of the documents that African systems of governance have many discrepancies between strategic plans and practical implementation capability. The study concludes that Africa is at a crossroads that needs climatic efforts at the continental level, human capital investment, strong regulatory implementation, and youth-focused innovation systems to make sure that AI usage is universal, moral, and development-driven. The expansion and validation of these findings by mixed-method and country-level empirical research should be included in future research.

RELIEF MURAL IN SANTINIKETAN: RAMKINKAR BAIJ’S SCULPTURAL LANGUAGE

Pradipta Biswas, Udaya Narayana Singh — Sat, 02 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ramkinkar Baij is recognised as a pioneering artist in the history of Indian sculpture and is often referred to as the father of modern Indian sculpture. He introduced a new visual language and technique that closely correspond to the concepts and nature of his works, adopting dynamic forms and expressive textures that convey emotion and movement. The construction, force, rhythm, and inner vitality apparent in his work distinguish him from other sculptors. His sculptures frequently focus on the lives of marginalised individuals, highlighting their struggles and fortitude in society. Baij developed a revolutionary throwing process and employed new media to merge his sculptures with the local textures, people, and landscapes within their environments, enabling an enhanced connection between the artwork and the community it represents. His renowned open-air environmental works, such as Mill Call, Santhal Family, Thresher, and Sujata, have introduced a unique dimension to Indian modern sculpture. His expertise in mural art is on par with the significance of his well-documented open-air sculptures and drawings. His work to relief murals in Santiniketan has considerably augmented the history of mural art during the modern Indian art era.

In addition to his sculptural achievements, Baij has made a durable impact on relief mural art. This study considers the concepts, visual language, and techniques used in his mural art. It also emphasises his contributions to society and how his mural journey has motivated future generations of artists. Furthermore, the study considers how the media he pioneered have gained widespread popularity and keep influencing the artistic language of contemporary society.

IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION IN HEALTHCARE: READINESS, BARRIERS, AND PATIENT OUTCOMES

Reetika Taneja, Dr. Hitakshi Dutta — Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose: The incorporation of Immersive Technologies, namely, AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality) and MR (Mixed Reality) is increasing rapidly across all the business sectors. Healthcare institutions are also integrating these technologies to strengthen clinical treatment, patient care, medical training and patient interaction. This study makes an effort to assess how healthcare institutions understand, adopt, and experience the integration of Immersive Technologies, more especially emphasizing on perceived value, implementation challenges and institutional readiness.

Methodology: A quantitative as well as qualitative analysis of questionnaires, discussions and interrogations with doctors, hospital administrators, and technology staff employed at healthcare institutions that are using or exploring immersive technologies like VR, AR, and MR. The interviews and responses provided a report on the different methods by which these institutions implement technology, as well as the upsides and downsides they have witnessed. The responses were thoroughly reviewed to find prevalent themes and patterns.

Findings: Immersive technology is an effective tool to enhance overall patient satisfaction and outcomes. The technology improves the treatment through personalized care and interactive visuals. Despite its numerous benefits, concerns about implementation costs, ethicality, time constraints, and the requirement for specialized training for the healthcare providers involved in the treatment procedure remains a significant challenge. Among 60 participants in this study, 41.7% identified that their institutions were sufficiently equipped to handle these technologies, while 33.3% disagreed and 25% were uncertain. 90% of the doctors had some awareness about immersive technologies in healthcare, with 41.7% confident and 48.3% having merely basic knowledge, and only 10% were entirely unaware. A significant number of doctors indicated time constraints (75% agreed, 11.7% strongly agreed) and cost (76.7% agreed, 16.7% strongly agreed) as significant barriers, while over 80% acknowledged ethical challenges. Furthermore, 80% of doctors believed immersive technologies could make healthcare more patient-centered and engaging, enhancing interactions between patients and providers, though 16.7% were uncertain and only a small fraction (3.3%) disagreed.

Research Limitations: This study includes views from a few healthcare institutions, so the results may not be representative of all types of hospitals or clinics. Longitudinal studies on the changes in the patterns of adoption and challenges to implementation of immersive technology can be studied in future research.

Practical Implications: The findings are relevant to healthcare service providers in terms of effective implementation of immersive technology. By addressing concerns related to cost, training, and ethical issues, healthcare institutions can improve their effectiveness of implementation and integrate immersive technologies to enhance patient care and treatment procedures.

Originality: With emphasis on real word implications and institutional readiness, this study provides a distinctive institution-centered viewpoint on immersive technology in healthcare. It provides basis for further research and practical frameworks to harness immersive innovations in healthcare institutions.

DEVELOPMENT AND STANDARDIZATION OF A LIFE SKILLS ASSESSMENT SCALE (LSAS-21)

Shumila Fatma Naqvi, Dr. Ritu Chandra — Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The present study focuses on the development and standardization of a Life Skills Assessment Scale (LSAS-21) designed to measure essential psychosocial competencies required for effective functioning in daily life. Life skills such as self-awareness, communication, resilience, empathy, participation, critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving, decision-making, and negotiation play a crucial role in personal, social, and academic adjustment.
The initial item pool was developed after an extensive review of literature and existing life skills frameworks. The scale was prepared using a Likert-type format and evaluated by subject experts for content validity. A pilot study was conducted on a sample of N = 30, and the reliability was found to be high (α = 0.953). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated a multidimensional structure of the scale.
The main standardization study was conducted on a sample of N = 400, and the reliability of the final scale was α = 0.702. Construct validity was examined using correlation analysis and factor analysis. Pearson’s correlation showed positive and significant relationships among items, indicating a common underlying construct. Further, Principal Component Analysis with Varimax rotation supported the suitability of the data for factor analysis. The KMO value was 0.755, and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity was significant (χ² = 837.690, df = 210, p < .001), confirming adequacy for factor analysis.
The final LSAS-21 consists of 21 items covering nine dimensions: Self-Awareness, Communication, Resilience, Empathy, Participation, Critical Thinking, Creativity and Problem Solving, Decision Making, and Negotiation. The scale demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties and can be effectively used by researchers, counselors, and educators for assessing life skills.

SPECIAL ISSUE ON VISUAL CULTURE, PERFORMING ARTS, AND SOCIAL MEDIA: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ANALYTICAL PERSPECTIVE

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dear Readers and Contributors,

The ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts invites original research papers, review articles, and creative–critical contributions for a Special Issue titled “Visual Culture, Performing Arts, and Social Media: An Interdisciplinary Analytical Perspective.”

In the contemporary digital landscape, social media platforms have become powerful spaces for the creation, dissemination, and transformation of visual culture and performing arts. These platforms not only reshape how artistic expressions are produced and shared but also redefine audience engagement, participation, and interpretation. Visual narratives, performative identities, and mediated aesthetics are increasingly influenced by algorithmic systems, networked interactions, and user-generated content, leading to new forms of artistic hybridity and cultural dialogue.

This Special Issue seeks to explore the dynamic intersections between visual culture, performing arts, and social media through interdisciplinary analytical perspectives. It aims to provide a platform for scholars, researchers, and practitioners to critically examine how digital environments influence artistic practices, cultural representation, performance traditions, and creative communication. The issue encourages discussions on how social media reconfigures artistic expression, challenges conventional boundaries, and fosters new modes of storytelling and audience interaction.

Aligned with the journal’s commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship across visual arts, media studies, performance, design, and cultural studies, this Special Issue emphasizes the evolving relationship between creativity and digital mediation. Contributions are invited that engage with theoretical, empirical, conceptual, or practice-based approaches. Particular attention is encouraged for studies addressing digital performance, visual storytelling, influencer culture, participatory media, identity construction, virtual and hybrid performances, and the socio-cultural impact of social media on artistic practices.

We welcome submissions that demonstrate scholarly rigor, critical insight, and innovative perspectives, contributing meaningfully to the discourse on the convergence of visual culture, performing arts, and social media in the contemporary era.

The editorial team looks forward to receiving your valuable contributions.

Guest Editors:

ADIWU, Talatu Onkala (PhD)

Faculty of Environmental Studies, Department of Fine Arts, University of Maiduguri, Borno, Nigeria

Email: adiwutalatuonkala@gmail.com

Dr. S. Jenefa

Professor & Head, Department of Journalism & Science Communication, School of Linguistics & Communication, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai-625021, Tamilnadu, India

Email: jenefaselwyn@gmail.com

Dr. V. Vijay Kumar

Associate Professor & Dean, School of Communications, XIM University, Bhubaneswar

Email: vijaykumarvijayan@xim.edu.in / vijaykumarvijayan@gmail.com

Dr. Deepak D. Kapgate

Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science Engineering, Nagpur University, Nagpur, India

Email: deepakkapgate1234@gmail.com

Amir Ghasemi

Research Assistant, Department of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Email: amir_ghasemi@ut.ac.ir

CRISIS-MOTIVATED DEPENDENCY: HOW TELEVISION TALK SHOWS SCHOOL THE LEBANESE PUBLIC AGENDA DURING STATE FAILURE

Zeinab Awarki — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The media system experiences a structural change following such a fundamental transformation in a failing state environment whereby there is a paralysis of the public institutions and an overall lack of credibility in the system. This paper examines how television talk shows, i.e. on MTV, Al-Jadeed and Al-Manar are the main means of navigation among the Lebanese youths. Beyond the description analysis, the study will use a Functional-Dependency Model to describe how media reliance serves as a survival mechanism.

The research relies on a 2-method design, content analysis of talk show programs and a field survey of 200 Lebanese youth to identify a deep level of Navigational Dependency (rho=0.73rho=0.73). These results reveal that media framing effectively solves the ambiguity of the economic meltdown into making the extent of Priority Convergence (ρ=0.67 0.67=0.67) between the media agenda and popular consciousness high. The research is presented with the conclusion that the television talk shows act as Shadow State, which is offering a cognitive structure to a topography of institutional destruction. Nevertheless, this dependency is characterized by a Paradox of Anxiety when cognitive clarity of high level is traced with considerable affective suffering.

FRAGMENTED REALITIES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PARTISAN FRAMING IN LEBANESE TELEVISION TALK SHOWS

Zeinab Awarki — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Under the conditions of extreme plurality of political and ideological positions in the media space, the Lebanese television system also becomes not a single public space but a producer of parallel realities. The phenomenon of Echo Chamber that is discussed in this paper refers to Lebanese talk shows that is to say, the talk shows of MTV, Al-Jadeed, and Al-Manar and how the perceptions of the people regarding systemic state failure are disaggregated through partisan framing. The analysis of Interpretive Polarization of the causes of the national crisis based on comparative framing analysis and the survey of 200 Lebanese young people is the focus of the study. The results express that on one hand, there is an actual existence of a nominal "Public Agenda" and on the other hand, the causal attribution of the economic collapse was diametrically opposite along the channel audiences (correlation=0.67correlation=0.67). Whereas readers of MTV place emphasis on inner-institutional breakdown, viewers to Al-Manar emphasize outer-geopolitical pressures, and those of Al-Jadeed place emphasis on populist anti-establishment. The analysis summarizes that media addiction in Lebanon strengthens the social divisions that already exist in the country such that it turns a unified national crisis into unraveled partisan discourses that are not susceptible to a civic identity solution.

STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AS A DRIVER OF SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Dr. K. Kaaviyapriya, Dr. Priya Xavier — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In increasingly complex, uncertain, and competitive business environments, organizations are compelled to seek sources of sustainable competitive advantage that extend beyond traditional tangible assets. Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) has emerged as a critical organizational capability that aligns human capital systems with long-term strategic objectives, thereby enabling sustained superior performance. Drawing primarily on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and complementary strategic management theories, this conceptual research article critically examines the role of SHRM in creating, developing, and sustaining competitive advantage. The article synthesizes extant literature to analyze how strategically aligned HR practices enhance workforce capabilities, organizational learning, innovation, and resilience. A comprehensive conceptual framework is proposed that links SHRM practices to sustainable competitive advantage through mediating organizational processes. The paper contributes to the strategic HRM literature by clarifying mechanisms through which HR systems generate value that is valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN ADDRESSING ENGLISH LEARNING DISABILITIES: A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY ON DYSLEXIA, ADHD, DEAFNESS AND VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

Sabin Kumar S, Dr. R. Vasuhi — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Background: English language acquisition, involving reading, writing, listening, and speaking, presents significant cognitive and sensory challenges for children with disabilities such as dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), deafness, and visual impairment. Traditional pedagogical methods often assume uniform cognitive abilities, marginalizing these learners.
Objectives: This paper critically examines the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in creating inclusive, adaptive, and personalized English learning environments for these four disability groups.
Methods: Adopting a qualitative systematic review approach, the study synthesizes findings from peer-reviewed journal articles (2018–2026), AI in education research, and assistive technology studies, grounded in Cognitive Load Theory, Baddeley’s Model of Working Memory, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
Findings: AI-driven technologies including Natural Language Processing (NLP), speech recognition, computer vision, and adaptive learning systems significantly enhance early diagnosis, individualized instruction, and multimodal learning. For dyslexia, AI improves phonological decoding; for ADHD, it segments content to manage attention; for deaf learners, real-time captioning bridges auditory gaps; and for blind learners, screen readers and OCR enable text access.
Conclusion: AI, when aligned with inclusive pedagogy and human-centered design, holds transformative potential for equitable English language education. However, success depends on addressing ethical concerns (data privacy, algorithmic bias), technological inequities (digital divide), and pedagogical integration (teacher training). AI should empower, not replace, educators.

ECOLOGICAL EXISTENTIALISM IN JON FOSSE’S NARRATIVES: MEMORY, RESILIENCE, AND INTERCONNECTED WELL-BEING

Sukhpreet Kaur, Dr. Manju — Sat, 02 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The present study investigates issues of uncertainty, connectedness, and the human relationship with the environment and memory by examining the intersection of Deborah Bird Rose's ecological existentialism and Jon Fosse's I Am the Wind and Aliss at the Fire. Rose's paradigm, which highlights the dualities of the Anthropocene—uncertainty and interconnectedness—resonates with Fosse's paintings, distinguished by their existential profundity and eerie depictions of human emotion. Two characters' metaphorical voyage across the broad sea in I Am the Wind raises existential questions about relationships, identity, and humanity's precarious bond with the natural world. In a similar vein, Aliss at the Fire explores memory and loss over generations, with nature serving as both a participant and a witness to human tragedy. Echoing Rose's idea of "shimmer," which recognises the transition between the past, present, and future, the fjord and fire represent cyclical loss and regeneration. This essay argues that Fosse's depiction of nature as a dynamic force that is both nourishing and destructive offers significant insights into psychological resilience and well-being by applying ecological existentialism to his stories. The pieces emphasise how natural settings and ancestry influence human life, calling for a reconsideration of isolationist viewpoints in favour of interconnection