20263417342026Academicus2026-07-252026-07-25issue_nr34image.Issue Cover Image13Academicus-MMXXVI-34-232-301.pdf10.7336/academicus.2026.34.13Communication, Information and Knowledge Exchange in the Prevention of Antimicrobial Resistance in South Africa and Worldwide: A Narrative Bioethical ReviewCurrent study uses the method of narrative review and the method of bioethical analysis to evaluate the status of management antimicrobial resistance in South Africa and globally. Specific focus is placed on the evaluation of the alignment of the strategic, operational and tactical decision-making between international, regional national and sub-national level of planning decision-making, data and information exchange, and mechanisms to minimise human suffering due to antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial resistance is looked at as a feedback loop which results from the irrational prescribing an overuse of antimicrobial medicines by humanity, and through the lens of the utilitarian qubit. Results of the study indicate that the World Health Organisation and other international, or regional organisations stimulate collaboration and create/operationalise platforms that allow for efficient exchange of information about antimicrobial resistance. Limitations exist in the antimicrobial resistance testing and linking of prescribing and dispensing of antimicrobial agents in low- and middle-income countries. Solutions are proposed to address the gaps at the tactical level of decision-making and to deal with uncertainty antimicrobial resistance development in the future. These include of targeted training mechanisms, which are legislated at the national level of government, and which empower frontline healthcare workers. These training programmes should be supplemented by the use communicative ecology in data gathering, and information sharing. It is also important to drive behavioural rigor in prescribing, dispensing, and therapeutic uses of antimicrobial medicines in public healthcare systems. Finally, health literacy of all stakeholders should be continuously monitored in relation to antimicrobial resistance.https://academicus.edu.al/2026utilitarian qubithealth threatstactical decision-makingtrainingfrontline healthcare workersSamridhiSharmaRhodes UniversityIndia samridhi11sharma@gmail.com0000-0002-2061-0688SunithaSrinivasRhodes UniversityIndia sunithacsrinivas2020@gmail.com0000-0001-7267-3149KellyMaguireRhodes UniversitySouth Africa (Former Union of South Africa)kmaguire007@gmail.com0000-0003-1496-5527RomanTandlichRhodes University/Stenden South AfricaSouth Africa (Former Union of South Africa)roman.tandlich@gmail.com0000-0002-9696-0473PDF0232-3012Academicus-MMXXVI-34-030-043.pdf10.7336/academicus.2026.34.02Regional Integration Models in Eurasia and Europe: A Comparative Analysis of the Organization of Turkic States and the European UnionRegional organizations have become central actors in the contemporary international system, shaping economic cooperation, political governance, and regional security. This article presents a comparative analysis of the European Union and the Organization of Turkic States in order to examine alternative pathways of regional integration. Drawing upon theoretical frameworks from International Relations, including Neofunctionalism, Liberal Intergovernmentalism, and Constructivism, the article explores institutional development, economic cooperation, and geopolitical roles of the two organizations. The study argues that while the EU represents the most advanced model of supranational regional integration, the OTS reflects an emerging intergovernmental framework rooted in shared cultural identity and geopolitical connectivity across Eurasia. The findings suggest that increasing institutionalization and economic initiatives within the OTS may contribute to the development of a distinct model of regional cooperation.https://academicus.edu.al/2026Regional integrationEurasian cooperationEuropean UnionInternational organizationsJahangirHasanovThe Academy of Public Administration, BakuAzerbaijan or Azerbaidjan (Former Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic)hsnovcahangir978@gmail.com0009-0002-3741-6918PDF030-439Academicus-MMXXVI-34-152-177.pdf10.7336/academicus.2026.34.09What is Undergraduate Psychology Education For? A Comparative Analysis of International Frameworks in Transitional Higher Education ContextsUndergraduate psychology programs are increasingly expected to demonstrate coherence, accountability, and alignment with broader educational and professional standards. In contexts where national frameworks are absent, however, curricular development may be shaped by implicit and potentially incompatible educational logics. This paper examines this problem through the case of Albania, where undergraduate psychology programs have expanded rapidly without a shared framework to guide their purpose, structure, or outcomes. Adopting a qualitative and analytic comparative approach, the study analyzes three influential international models: the APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major (Version 3.0), the International Competences for Undergraduate Psychology (ICUP), and the EuroPsy framework, across six dimensions: internal architecture, educational philosophy, pedagogical philosophy, unit of concern, graduate role, and assessment logic. The analysis demonstrates that these frameworks embody distinct educational logics: performance, formation, and authorization, which carry different implications for curriculum design, graduate identity, and the distribution of responsibility within higher education systems. The paper argues that, in the absence of strong institutional and regulatory infrastructures, the question of framework alignment is not merely technical but conceptual and ethical. It concludes that making such alignment explicit is essential for ensuring coherence, accountability, and the development of graduates capable of functioning responsibly within transitional higher education contexts.https://academicus.edu.al/2026undergraduate psychology educationhigher education reformAlbaniaICUPAPA Guidelines 3.0EuroPsycurriculum modelsRoksanaPoçiUniversity of Elbasan “Aleksandër Xhuvani”Albania roksana.poci@uniel.edu.al0000-0003-0713-1305PDF0152-17712Academicus-MMXXVI-34-216-231.pdf10.7336/academicus.2026.34.12An Assessment of Disability Inclusion in Albania's Disaster Risk Reduction SystemAlbania is among the most disaster-prone countries in Europe, frequently struck by earthquakes, floods, wildfires, droughts, and extreme weather. Persons with disabilities (PWDs), 6.5% of the adult population and 10% of children, face mortality rates in disasters estimated to be two to four times higher than those of the general population. Yet Albania's civil protection system has long been disability-blind: national strategies, local emergency plans, early warning systems, and evacuation protocols have been drawn up with little regard for the specific needs of PWDs. Despite the country's ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2012 and the adoption of a Civil Protection Law in 2019 that explicitly references PWDs, the gap between legal obligation and operational practice remains wide.
This paper analyses results from a structured institutional survey administered to central government bodies, prefectures, and municipalities across Albania. Drawing on responses from 26 institutions, the study examines institutional awareness, policy implementation, training levels, communication practices, and inter-institutional cooperation on the inclusion of PWDs in disaster risk reduction (DRR). Key findings include the near-total exclusion of PWDs from emergency drills, reported by 53.8% of institutions; the absence of accessible emergency communication formats in 65.4% of institutions; severe shortages of trained personnel; and the identification of insufficient financial resources as the primary barrier by 92.3% of respondents. The findings reveal a wide gap between formal commitments, including Albania's Law on Civil Protection (2019), the National DRR Strategy and Action Plan (2023–2030), and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and what actually happens in practice. The paper identifies the key deficiencies and closes with seven concrete policy and operational recommendations, covering dedicated budget lines, mandatory training, disability-inclusive early warning systems, evacuation protocols, participatory mechanisms, disaggregated data systems, and accountability frameworks, aimed at building a rights-based, inclusive DRR system in Albania.https://academicus.edu.al/2026Keywords: disaster risk reductionpersons with disabilitiesAlbaniainclusive policycivil protectionSendai Framework.BlertaDrenofciLOGOS University CollegeAlbania blerta.drenofci@kulogos.edu.al0009-0004-2260-569XPDF0216-2315Academicus-MMXXVI-34-075-090.pdf10.7336/academicus.2026.34.05Savarkar's Ideology and its Impact on Hindu Nationalism in British IndiaHindu nationalism in British India witnessed a substantial transition in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This was through the disputed philosophical contributions of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The key research challenge tackles how Savarkar methodically changed Indian nationalism from a civic, pluralistic framework into an exclusionary cultural ideology by skilfully mobilising European nation-state paradigms and reinterpreting colonial history. Savarkar’s ideology shows great European influence, especially with regard to organic nation-state concepts to present what he meant by 'nationhood', employing Western nationalist paradigms with the aim to define Indianness strictly via Hindu lenses. This generated a foundational tension between anti-colonial secular aspirations and majoritarian cultural assertion.
The main objective of this research is to tackle this ideological synthesis, tracing how Savarkar’s conceptualisation of Hindutva simultaneously advanced anti-colonial mobilisation and institutionalised religiously bound national membership. The study investigates how Savarkar instrumentalised history as a political mechanism for mass mobilisation while constructing a homogeneous cultural identity. Rather than advocating historical revivalism. He viewed the construction of a historicistic narrative from the Hindu perspective as necessary to unveil the glories of ancient India by systematically marginalising periods of Islamic rule as foreign invasions. His vast literary production functioned as vehicles to articulate his vision for India under Hindu sovereignty.
A qualitative historical methodology combined with critical discourse analysis and archival triangulation is used to support this investigation and facilitate a systematic analysis of ideological development by correlating literary output with administrative documentation, thus reducing colonial surveillance bias and identifying strategic rhetorical changes. Savarkar's primary texts, namely 'Hindutva: Who is a Hindu?', 'The Indian War of Independence 1857', and 'Six Glorious Epochs of Indian History' are the main corpus of this research. These are analysed alongside personal correspondence during his London exile and contemporary colonial intelligence reports for an understanding of how his ideas were received; archival documents from the India Office Records have also been used. Other sources include scholarly critiques on Hindutva as well as comparative nationalist theories.
The findings indicate that Savarkar secularised religion into a territorial-political identity. He distinguished theological faith from national affiliation while culturally uniting them through ancestral lineage, sacred geography (pitribhumi and punyabhumi), and civilisational uniformity.https://academicus.edu.al/2026Hindu nationalism – Hindutva – the RSS – India – independenceAliBelabbesUniversity of Oran 2 Algeria / Laboratory Of Languages, Literature And Civilisation/ History In AfricaAlgeria belabbes.aliabdelhafidh@univ-oran2.dz0009-0001-9097-732XPDF075-901Academicus-MMXXVI-34-013-029.pdf10.7336/academicus.2026.34.01The Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Spain and Albania (1946–1986): From Non-Recognition to Diplomatic NormalizationOn 12 September 1986, Spain and Albania established diplomatic relations through an exchange of notes at the Spanish embassy in Paris. The agreement ended more than four decades without formal ties between the two countries. This article reconstructs the process that led to that normalization, examines the motivations of both governments and places the episode within the broader foreign-policy contexts of late Cold War Europe.
The absence of diplomatic relations had deep historical roots. The Albanian communist government refused to recognize the Franco regime after the Second World War and instead recognized the Spanish Republican government in exile. Albanian volunteers had fought in the International Brigades during the Civil War, and that memory was woven into the founding legitimacy of the Hoxha regime. For several decades, those historical ties kept Madrid and Tirana apart even after Spain had normalized relations with almost all other communist states in Central and Eastern Europe during 1977.
The period between 1978 and 1985 altered the conditions on both sides. The González government treated the extension of diplomatic relations as part of a policy of diplomatic universality — and, according to Juan Antonio Yáñez-Barnuevo, who served in the Office of the Prime Minister during the period, the Albanian case also carried a compensatory political meaning in the year of the NATO referendum. On the Albanian side, the rupture with China in 1978 and the death of Enver Hoxha in 1985 opened space for selective openings towards Western Europe.
The article examines the negotiations of 1985–1986 in detail, drawing on published Albanian diplomatic documentation, Spanish press sources, secondary literature and an interview with Yáñez-Barnuevo conducted in March 2026. The choice of Paris as the venue, the preference for an exchange of notes over a joint communiqué, and the prior establishment of Spanish-Israeli relations in January 1986 were not incidental details: each reflected a specific political constraint that had to be resolved before the agreement could be signed.
The first diplomatic steps after September 1986 were deliberately modest. Spain covered Albania through its embassy in Belgrade; Albania covered Spain through its embassy in Paris. Credentials were exchanged in December 1986 and April 1987. No resident embassies were opened. It was a thin relationship. It was also the first one they had ever had.https://academicus.edu.al/2026Spanish foreign policy · Albanian diplomacy · Cold War Europe · diplomatic normalization · Felipe González · Ramiz Alia · bilateral relationsJordiXuclàRamon Llull UniversitySpain jordixc@blanquerna.edu0000-0002-2837-3373PDF013-293Academicus-MMXXVI-34-044-060.pdf10.7336/academicus.2026.34.03Constructing Migrants as Threats: A Linguistic and Critical Discourse Analysis of Trump’s RhetoricThis paper critically examines U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration discourse between 2023 and 2025. It will pay particular attention to the way migrants are represented within the president`s broader populist communication. The analysis will draw on Critical Discourse Analysis, systemic functional linguistics, and political communication theory and it will aim to investigate how immigration is discursively constructed by Trump. Twelve campaign rallies, policy addresses, and international conferences will be taken into consideration and the focus will be the identification of five interrelated strategies in public speaking: securitization, criminalization, threat amplification through metaphor, populist moral polarization and globalization of the threat strategies. These five strategies will be discussed in five separate analytical sections of the paper and they will lead to the linguistic and discourse interpretation that follows each of them. The extended excerpts chosen for the study reveal how predication and nominalization, numerical inflation, metaphorical framing (invasion, contamination, destruction), and intertextual repetition elevate public threat perception, amplify perceived risks and justify state policy interventions towards immigration. In addition, the study demonstrates how Trump`s rhetorical discourse is spread across the national borders of the United States since the excerpts selected for analysis are taken from different countries and cities in the United States. It also shows that the use of threatening language places normative pressure on the sovereignty of the nations. Trump`s anti-migration discourse is famous for his way of criminalizing illegal immigrants and proposing hard laws and regulations against them. Thus, the combination between “micro-language” and “macro politics” will enable this paper to contribute in the continuous discussion about massive communication and migration discourses.https://academicus.edu.al/2026political discourse analysisimmigrationpopulismsecuritizationmetaphor, identity.ArditaDylgjeriUniversity of Elbasan "Aleksandër Xhuvani"Albania ardita.dylgjeri@uniel.edu.al0000-0003-4016-2701PDF044-607Academicus-MMXXVI-34-106-136.pdf10.7336/academicus.2026.34.07Some Other Mythological Figures in Albanian Fairy TalesBased on the opinion of foreign and Albanian scholars, Albanian fairy tales are viewed with a rich abundance of mythical beings, where the actions of the characters take on functions of the unreal mythical world. As clearly defined by the authors Lambertz, Q. Haxhihasani, Z. Sako, M. Mustafa, J. Panajoti, etc., in the poetic and subjective world of Albanian fairy tales, mythical beings are present in the terrestrial, subterranean, cosmic worlds to which human fantasy has given gigantic dimensions and images, but sometimes even as invisible beings.
Mythological figures as characters of fairy tales have long attracted the attention not only of European scholars, but also of Albanian scholars. In this way, we would like to emphasize that: just like Dragon, the Beautiful of the Earth and other mythical figures such as: Clocks, Fairies, Deer, Duck, Beautiful bride of the waters, Figure of popular beliefs imagined as a very beautiful girl, The Witch, Figure of folk tales, depicted as a wild man, with a giant stature and one eye; cyclops.
In folkloric literature and many other contemporary studies, it is rightly pointed out that the extraordinary elements in fairy tales are a necessity that are equated with the fantastic element. But delving further, we can accept that the extraordinary in fairy tales should not and can be evaluated with the fantastic.https://academicus.edu.al/2026Albanian fairy talesmythological figuresextraordinary elementsfolkloric literature.EdliraÇerkeziUniversiy"Ismail Qemali" VloraAlbania cerkezi.edlira@gmail.com0009-0004-2553-5332AnaÇanoUniversity "Ismail Qemali",VloraAlbania materiale.ana@gmail.com0009-0009-7426-7123PDF0106-13610Academicus-MMXXVI-34-178-204.pdf10.7336/academicus.2026.34.10Promoting Authenticity in the ESP Classroom through Digital Learning ResourcesThis study investigates the integration of digital learning resources to address the authenticity gap in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instruction within the Computer Sciences Department at Setif 1 University, Algeria. Despite the growing recognition of authenticity as a pivotal factor in effective language learning, ESP classrooms in the Algerian higher education context continue to rely heavily on static, textbook-based materials that fail to replicate the linguistic demands of real-world professional environments. Employing a mixed-methods research design, this study combines quantitative data collected from a 20-item Likert-scale questionnaire administered to 45 Master 2 students across five sections with qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews with 5 ESP practitioners. Quantitative findings reveal that students perceive digital resources as moderately effective in enhancing authenticity, with an overall mean of 3.82 (SD = 0.74). Section-level analysis indicates that perceptions of the impact of digital resources on authenticity had the highest mean (M = 4.15), while challenges and limitations had the lowest (M = 3.31). Thematic analysis of teacher interviews uncovers four overarching themes: (1) the transformative potential of digital resources for authenticity, (2) infrastructural and pedagogical constraints, (3) the role of discipline-specificity in resource selection, and (4) professional development needs. The study concludes that while digital resources offer significant promise in bridging the authenticity gap, their effective integration requires systematic institutional support, targeted teacher training, and curriculum redesign informed by an analysis of authentic communicative needs.https://academicus.edu.al/2026English for Specific Purposesdigital learning resourcesauthenticity gapmixed-methods researchcomputer science educationthematic analysishigher educationAlgeriaBoudinarSomiaMohamed Lamine Debaghine, Setif 2 University, AlgeriaAlgeria s.boudinar@univ-setif2.dz0009-0000-1941-7840PDF0178-2046Academicus-MMXXVI-34-091-105.pdf10.7336/academicus.2026.34.06Intergenerational Negotiations of In-Betweenness, Mimicry and Ambivalence in Yaa Gyasi’s HomegoingThis paper examines the construction of postcolonial subjectivities in Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing through Homi K. Bhabha's concepts of mimicry, ambivalence, and hybridity. Focusing on the intergenerational trajectories of the descendants of Effia in Ghana and Esi in America, the study investigates how colonialism, slavery, and diaspora shape complex modes of identification that resist fixed notions of identity and belonging. Employing a qualitative textual analysis, the paper explores the way acts of mimicry generate ambivalent forms of identification, creating liminal spaces in which inherited cultural values, colonial legacies, and diasporic experiences intersect and are renegotiated across generations. Within these in-between spaces, hybrid subjectivities emerge not as mere combinations of cultures but as dynamic processes of cultural translation and negotiation that unsettle stable categories of selfhood. The analysis demonstrates that Homegoing destabilizes binary oppositions such as colonizer and colonized, African and American, and tradition and modernity by portraying identity as historically contingent, relational, and continually reconfigured. Ultimately, the paper argues that Gyasi's novel reveals how colonial encounters and their enduring aftermath produce intergenerational forms of hybridity and ambivalence that simultaneously expose the instability of colonial authority and open new possibilities for cultural identification and belonging.https://academicus.edu.al/2026Ambivalencehybriditymimicrypostcolonial subjectivityunbelongingHananeBoumarafMouhamed Kheider University of BiskraAndorra, Principality of hanane.boumaraf@univ-biskra.dz0009-0000-7349-947XPDF091-1058Academicus-MMXXVI-34-137-151.pdf10.7336/academicus.2026.34.08Students’ Perceptions of Educational Experiences: A Sixty-Year RetrospectiveThis study examines how students’ perceptions of their educational experiences have evolved over the past sixty years, offering a retrospective analysis of key shifts in the schooling environment. Data includes perceptions of overall quality of school experiences, challenges faced at school, the importance of the school environment and thoughts on the fairness of rules and policies. By centering student perspectives across multiple generations, this research provides valuable insight into the importance of improving ways educational leaders listen to student voices to improve decisions being made about curriculum, daily schedules, rules and policies, maintaining adequate facilities, socialization needs, and having access to caring teachers who offer support. This is critical to understand the long-term impacts of educational change on citizens and when informing future reforms.https://academicus.edu.al/2026democratic schoolsmiddle schooleducationgenerational needscitizenshipLatashaHoltUniversity of Louisiana at LafayetteUnited States latasha.holt@louisiana.edu0000-0002-0922-1083PDF0137-1514Academicus-MMXXVI-34-061-074.pdf10.7336/academicus.2026.34.04Political and Media Polarization: Dynamics, Consequences, and Perspectives in Contemporary SocietyThis contribution examines the relationship between political and media polarization in contemporary society. Over the years, polarization has become a central phenomenon in multiple countries, characterized by the progressive separation of opinions and extreme attitudes among different political groups. The media, absolute protagonists in the dissemination of information and in the shaping of public opinion, stand as a stronghold of this process. This article first presents a conceptualization and examines its link with the media landscape, establishing its origin, consequences, and the different ramifications. The effects impact society’s media consumption and the very functioning of democracy, strongly affecting political life. Possible trajectories and strategies are therefore addressed to promote a more constructive and less polarized public discourse.https://academicus.edu.al/2026Political PolarizationMedia PolarizationPublic OpinionDemocracyPolitical CommunicationDanieleBattistaUniversity of SalernoItaly dbattista@unisa.it0009-0005-8418-8374VeronikaCillingováAndorra, Principality of vcillingova@ukf.sk0000-0002-6507-2158ArthurGugliuccielloAndorra, Principality of a.gugliucciello@studenti.unisa.it0009-0001-1836-9688PDF061-7411Academicus-MMXXVI-34-205-215.pdf10.7336/academicus.2026.34.11Parental Attitudes and Involvement in Primary EFL Learning: A View from Beyond the ClassroomAbstract
Family involvement in children’s lives and development is considered a fundamental requirement. Its role and continuous support are deemed crucial for a child’s personality, cognitive and academic development. Nowadays, when English has become the dominant language, its learning and teaching as a foreign language is also of great importance. In primary education, the home environment, parental attitudes and involvement, its engagement and support are very important factors that can substantially influence students’ confidence, motivation and success. Therefore, this study aims to examine parental attitudes and support during their children’s English language learning as a foreign language, as well as to provide an overview of the significance of parental involvement during the preparation of their children for tests and assessment in English language, in primary education in Kosovo. This qualitative study involved ten parents of children enrolled in public primary schools. The collected data from semi-structured interviews were used to obtain comprehensive responses addressing the research questions. Thematic analysis of the results revealed that participants had a positive attitude toward EFL learning and perceived their role as significant throughout the entire learning process. The majority of parents reported engaging in shared reading with their children, reviewing English language materials and preparing for tests and assessment, as well as in maintaining continuous parent-teacher communication. Overall, this study underscores the fundamental need for consistent parental support, involvement and continual collaboration between parents and schools in primary EFL education.https://academicus.edu.al/2026EFL learningattitudeinvolvementparentstudentBlertaGalicaSouth East European UniversityKosovobg29744@seeu.edu.mk0009-0004-0560-3246PDF0205-215