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Navigating Global Poverty in the midst of Rising Income Inequality: A Human Security Approach
From the dawn of civilization, poverty has been a predominant concern. Among them, the post-Second World War welfare state policies and economic development had a significant effect. Scientific and technological advancements and economic growth increased the GDP of almost all countries. However, it also widened the gap between the rich and the poor. This became evident with neoliberalism, privatization, and deregulation of the economy. The private assets increased enormously, losing the public sector's control over the economic interactions. As a result, income and wealth inequality increased rapidly. The World Inequality Report (2022) affirms the massive concentration of income and wealth in the hands of a few individuals. It adversely affects poverty alleviation strategies as poverty increases along with the rising income inequality. The World Bank (2024) affirms this precarious situation. From this perspective, this chapter examines the significance of the human security approach in addressing these human insecurities. 2026, IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Autonomous AI in Automotive Safety: Rethinking Tortious Liability Paradigms
This paper seeks to examine the application of tort law to the Automated Vehicles. Section I deals with a brief overview of the impact of AVs and tort law and the application of tortious principles. Section II discusses the concept of fault and the multiple parties to whom fault can be attributed. Furthermore, it discusses who should be blamed and to what extent. Section III discusses the tortious principles such as product liability, vicarious liability and apportionment of liability and its application to the AVs. Section IV proposes directions for future research, conclusion and recommendations for the legal challenges posed by the AVs. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
From Sensors to Action: Human-Centred Approaches to Communicating Earthquake and Flash-Flood Warnings
Multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS) are critical instruments for reducing disaster-related losses in an era marked by intensifying seismic and hydrometeorological risks. Despite advances in sensor technologies and predictive analytics, the effectiveness of early warning systems depends largely on how warnings are communicated, interpreted, and acted upon by diverse populations. This chapter examines the transition from sensor-based detection to actionable public response, focusing on emerging technologies and human-centred dissemination strategies for earthquake and flash-flood warnings. Integrating perspectives from disaster risk reduction, communication theory, and socio-technical systems, the chapter highlights gaps between technological capability and social uptake. It proposes an integrative framework that aligns real-time sensing, decision support, and inclusive communication to strengthen resilience across vulnerable communities. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. -
The Transparency Paradox: Rebuilding Trust in AI Shopping Agents Through Explainability
AI shopping agent systems that search, compare, negotiate, and purchase on a consumers behalf promise to reduce friction in digital commerce, but they also intensify long-standing concerns about price discrimination, manipulative choice architecture, and opaque data use. This chapter argues that the resulting transparency paradox is not merely a communication problem: the same AI capabilities that enable personalization can also conceal and optimize exploitation. Building on research in trust, explainable artificial intelligence, humanAI interaction, and consumer protection, the chapter develops a socio-technical approach to rebuilding trust in agentic commerce. It synthesizes regulatory and standards developments and proposes design and governance mechanisms layered explanations, contestable outcomes, auditability, and choice-integrity controls intended to make AI shopping agents intelligible and accountable across jurisdictions and market contexts. Copyright 2026, IGI Global Scientific Publishing. -
Redefining Online Commerce With AI-Powered Shopping Agents
The importance of artificial intelligence has rapidly changed the world of online commerce and turned digital shopping into a predictive and personalized practice. One of the most significant changes is the application of AI to create shopping agent intelligent machines helping consumers at every stage of the buying process by suggesting purchases, comparing products, and automating the process. This chapter discusses how AI agents of shopping are transforming e-commerce through redefining consumer behaviour, and making new types of online interaction possible. Based on a systematic literature review of the scholarly literature and industry practices, the chapter discusses the most important applications, including personalized recommendations, dynamic pricing, AR-driven virtual try-ons, and autonomous purchasing systems. The research comes up with the conclusion that, AI shopping agents are no longer considered an optional addition, but a strategic collaborator in contemporary commerce, although their implementation should be supported by moral values, transparency, and human supervision. Copyright 2026, IGI Global Scientific Publishing. -
Algorithms Against Manipulation: Safeguarding Consumer Rights in AI Shopping
The growing use of AI driven shopping agents has transformed digital commerce through enhanced personalization, while simultaneously enabling new forms of consumer manipulation, including dark patterns, algorithmic price discrimination, and subscription traps. This chapter critically examines whether existing regulatory frameworks particularly the GDPR, the EUAI Act, and Indias Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 are adequate to address persuasive algorithmic practices. It argues that prevailing consent based regulatory models are structurally ill-equipped to counter real-time and adaptive AI driven manipulation. Drawing on regulatory gaps and contemporary case studies, the chapter advances the normative proposal of classifying advanced AI shopping agents as information fiduciaries. Such a framework would impose enforceable duties of loyalty and care toward consumers, moving beyond notice-and-consent paradigms and strengthening consumer protection in AI-mediated digital marketplaces. Copyright 2026, IGI Global Scientific Publishing. -
Phygital Transformation in Healthcare: Bridging Technology, Trust, and Accessibility in the Modern Health Economy
The healthcare industry is at a critical juncture as it grapples with the rapid adoption of new technology while trying to integrate these advancements into traditional care models in order to respond to the increasing demands of society and economy. This chapter discusses how phygital healthcare can help improve the efficiency, access, and engagement of patients when using digital technology by addressing issues that have historically plagued the industry such as trust and access to affordable options. An analysis of how these technologies will change the way we deliver healthcare and how we will manage it financially is presented along with an exploration of the economic and marketing implications of digital health in relation to building patient- centered systems and sustainable health markets. Through case studies and literature reviews, this chapter lays out a model for integrating digital innovation into ethical leadership to ensure that health care reform occurs in a socially inclusive and technologically progressive manner. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
From Public Awareness to Phygital Action: Health Literacy, Economics, and Leadership in Indias Healthcare Reform
Over seven decades, Indias health reform has transitioned from traditional awareness programs to participatory phygital (physical + digital) models. This paper traces the evolution of health literacy governance through successive Five- Year Plans (19512017), analyzing how economic priorities, marketing strategies, and leadership paradigms shaped reform outcomes. It highlights the shift from rural welfare and communicable disease control to challenges of lifestyle disorders, digital health equity, and nutrition security. Persistent gaps in efficiency, communication, and leadership integration across the phygital ecosystem are identified. The study concludes with recommendations to embed health literacy, digital inclusion, and collaborative leadership within Indias public health framework, advancing equitable, action- oriented, and sustainable healthcare reform. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Leadership and Equity in Health Reform: Overcoming Discrimination and Promoting Mental Well-Being Among Migrant Workers
This chapter examines leadership and governance responses to workplace discrimination and mental- health inequities among migrant workers within Indias healthreform landscape, using Kerala as an empirical case. Drawing on quantitative evidence linking discrimination with psychological distress, diminished self- esteem, and reduced well- being, the chapter situates these outcomes within established frameworks such as health equity, social determinants of mental health, and traumainformed leadership. It advances a compassion- driven leadership model that integrates behavioral insights, inclusive policy design, public- health marketing, and participatory governance to address structural and systemic inequities. By moving beyond descriptive narratives, the chapter demonstrates how ethical and inclusive leadership can translate evidence into equitable reform. It argues that sustainable health reform must embed human dignity, social justice, and mental well- being at the core of governance, rather than prioritizing efficiency alone. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
From Mass Campaigns to Phygital Governance: Health Literacy, Policy Advertising, and Reform Pathways in India
Over seven decades, Indias health literacy journey has progressed from traditional mass campaigns to integrated phygital governance, blending physical outreach with digital communication. This paper examines the evolution of health communication, policy advertising, and reform through the lens of Indias Five- Year Plans (19512017). It traces the shift from school- based civic education and rural health campaigns to technologically enabled, participatory Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) strategies. While health literacy has remained a core national priority, persistent gaps in equity, access, and behavioral outcomes endure. The study underscores the need for phygital inclusion, participatory communication, and data- driven governance to strengthen public health systems and ensure equitable, sustainable health literacy for all citizens in the digital age. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Global Healthcare Reform Trends: Leadership, Diplomacy, and Governance in the Digital Era
Healthcare reform in the twenty- first century has shifted from a primarily national concern to a complex global governance challenge shaped by digital innovation, economic interdependence, and transnational health risks. The COVID- 19 pandemic exposed critical gaps in leadership, coordination, and governance, underscoring the need for integrated and collaborative reform approaches. This chapter examines global healthcare reform trends in the digital era, focusing on the roles of leadership, health diplomacy, and governance in shaping cross- border policy and system transformation. Drawing on global governance, leadership, health diplomacy, and institutional theories, it conceptualizes healthcare reform as a multilevel process. The chapter introduces a phygital healthcare governance framework that integrates physical and digital systems to promote equity, resilience, and sustainable healthcare reform. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Inclusion in Healthcare Economics: Ensuring Affordability and Accessibility for All Social Groups
Healthcare systems across the globe continue to struggle with persistent inequities in affordability and accessibility, disproportionately affecting marginalized and socioeconomically vulnerable populations. As nations pursue large- scale health reforms, the integration of physical and digital (phygital) healthcare ecosystems presents both transformative opportunities and new ethical challenges. This chapter examines inclusion in healthcare economics through the lenses of affordability, accessibility, and social justice, situating these concerns within contemporary national health reform agendas. Drawing on economic theory, public health policy, and leadership studies, the chapter explores how phygital health models can reduce structural barriers while also risking new forms of exclusion if inequities in digital access, literacy, and governance persist. The chapter contributes a multidimensional framework that integrates economics, marketing, and leadership to advance inclusive, equitable, and sustainable healthcare systems. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Persons With Disabilities: A Critical Analysis of India's Right-Based Approach
Disability is a challenging issue across the globe, as almost 16% of the global population has some kind of disability. India, the most populous country in the world, also faces the severity of disability issues as 2.2% of its population belongs to that group. For a good period, Indian society considered disability as a curse in the context of karma theory. Accordingly, the disabled faced discrimination, marginalization, and social exclusion. Though the Constitution guaranteed equal rights, India's approach towards disabled was mostly based on charitable contributions for their rehabilitation rather than a rights-based approach. But in line with the paradigm shift in the global approach, the Indian perspective also changed, underlining the rights of the disabled. Many policies were designed to give them access to the mainstream of the society, but India lacks adequate strategies for implementing these policies. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Future of Work in Creative Industries
Digital technologies, platform- based labour and AI are causing a significant transformation in the future of work in creative industries. This chapter looks at how the changes are transforming creative professions, work models and career expectations. In the digital transition, numerous cultural barriers to entry have been eliminated and individuals can tap into international markets without institutional intermediaries. With creative employees becoming more freelance and web based entrepreneurs, artists have to manage an increased pressure to balance between creativity and commercial and technological concerns. Lastly, it also gives future research and policy implications such as the need to provide structural systems that safeguard mental health, equitable pay and inclusiveness to opportunities. This chapter contends that creators, platforms, educators and policymakers must work together in order to achieve a healthy and equitable creative economy and sustainable creative futures. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Ethics of Creativity in the Age of AI
The accelerated development of generative artificial intelligence has challenged the principles of creative practice and has laid down them as the established assumptions about the originality, intentions, and cultural significance of humans. This chapter critically discusses the intersection of AI- generated creativity with psychological theories of the agency of humans, social and cultural structures of meaning- making and emerging ethical issues of authorship, ownership and cultural representation. With reference to past and present studies, empirical results and technological advances, the chapter aims to point out the two- sided character of AI as the accelerant of creative possibility and the de- disturbing factor in artistic, economic and cultural ecosystems. It assesses the most notable risks, such as bias, cultural homogenization, deepfakes, labour displacement, and environmental costs, besidesacknowledging the opportunities to democratize, make it more accessible and allow human- machine collaboration. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Exploring AI-Driven Economic Decision Making and Role in Promoting Green Investment
Artificial Intelligence has assumed a disruptive role in the sphere of economic decision-making, specifically in the field of capital allocation towards green investments that would meet global sustainability requirements. Using machine-learning algorithms, neural networks, and big-data analytics, AI can offer greater accuracy in predicting economic patterns and risk assessment of the environment, and using AI can diversify portfolios with low-carbon assets, commercializing the old dichotomy between the financial value of profit and the eco-friendliness. This study discusses the transformations that AI-based tools are ready to make to the traditional economic paradigms, including the predictive analytics in terms of renewable-energy valuation, natural-language processing that would analyze sustainability reporting, or both in combination, a means of creating a paradigm shift where green investments would no longer be considered an act of charity, but rather a data-driven necessity of constructing long-term values. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
The Impactful Learning-Empowering Education Beyond Classrooms
Todays education is a dynamic ecosystem influenced by emerging technologies, human skills & iterative learning. The idea of learning beyond classrooms is introduced in this chapter, fostering an influential learning environment that aids in the process of continuous development. Both motivated students and empowered teachers are essential to ensuring the achievement of the impactful learning process. This chapters section offers an analysis of how instructors motivation, co- creation & continual training are essential for maintaining innovation. Education must extend beyond academic excellence to prepare learners for life. A beyond- classrooms learning approach is not a pedagogy but a mindset that integrates the competencies & prepares students to thrive in challenging, real-world situations in addition to achieving academic success. This chapter aims at rethinking education as a concept that expands classrooms, transforms communities, and prepares learners for impactful futures. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Generative Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: Transforming Authorship and Research Standards
Generative AI (GAI) is fundamentally altering the academic authorship and research ethics landscape by sourcing multiple long-held beliefs of originality, intellectual labor, and academic accountability. The rise of tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude in the writing, analysis, and creation of knowledge creates an urgent need for Higher Education to redefine the meaning of ethical authorship. This paper seeks to examine how Generative AI has changed many of the long-standing academic traditions, highlighting dependence on technology and analyze the inconsistencies in the AI Policies at institutions of higher education worldwide. By utilizing qualitative and normative methods from deontological and virtue ethics, this study compares the policies of Harvard University and University of Cambridge and highlights the best practices for responsible use and integration of AI technologies. The chapter will also propose a human-centered, accountable, and transparent AI collaboration model that protects academic integrity while supporting continued technological advancement 2026 IGI Global Scientific Publishing. -
Impact of Smart Phones and Social Media Consumer Addiction Affecting Interpersonal Relationship
In this Chapter we will discuss the addiction of smartphones and Social Media Addiction. In this generation accessing the internet and getting connected online with people is very easy now people carry their smart devices with them everywhere and today people use mobile data more than calling someone because each and every individual with all age categories from a kid to senior citizen everyone is being Addicted. While the smartphone and social media platforms have played a crucial role in connecting people in a very easy manner. When people meet social gathering or in a parties they should interact with the people and have should socialise with the people but instead of that a notification from social media apps on smartphones pop's up and within a sec person get engaged with their phones or checking the notification. This is a major issue that is happening in today's time. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved. -
Navigating the Nexus: An Integrated Framework for Energy- Water- Food Security in the MENA Region
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region confronts a severe and escalating challenge to its resource security, rooted in the complex interdependencies of the Energy- Water- Food (EWF) nexus. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the long- term impacts of alternative policy pathways on EWF security and associated socio- economic outcomes. Utilizing a specifically designed Input- Output (IO) modelling framework incorporating flexible production functions and price- induced factor substitution, this study projects outcomes to the year 2050 for ten key MENA countries under five distinct scenarios: a Business- as- Usual (BAU) trajectory, three sector- specific scenarios focused on Energy (ESC), Water (WSC), and Food (FSC), and an integrated EWF Nexus- oriented Scenario (NSC). The analysis reveals that the BAU path, which extrapolates current policies and consumption patterns, leads to a precipitous decline in water and food security, rendering current development models fundamentally unsustainable. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved.