International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies

Designing an integrated counseling service through WhatsApp bot and physical space: A design science research approach at Islamic State University of Sumatera Utara

2026-05-30T03:00:41-05:00

This study addresses the persistent underutilization of counseling and academic guidance services among university students at the Faculty of Public Health (FKM), Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara (UINSU), Indonesia. It aims to systematically design, develop, demonstrate, and evaluate an integrated counseling service artifact—combining a physical counseling space (MIKA Corner) with a WhatsApp-based chatbot (MIKA Care)—to improve service accessibility and reduce stigma barriers to ultimately enhance student well-being. The study employs Design Science Research (DSR) methodology following the process model by Peffers, et al. [1] operationalized through five iterative stages: (1) problem identification and motivation, (2) definition of solution objectives, (3) design and development, (4) demonstration, and (5) evaluation. The research is further grounded in Hevner, et al. [2] three-cycle framework (relevance, design, and rigor cycles). Data were gathered through stakeholder consultations, observational analysis, student feedback surveys (Likert-scale and open-ended), and platform usage analytics over a 30-day implementation period. The evaluation employed a mixed-methods approach guided by the Framework for Evaluation in Design Science Research (FEDS) by Venable, et al. [3]. The MIKA artifact successfully served 64 students (3 via face-to-face counseling at MIKA Corner; 61 via MIKA Care WhatsApp Bot). Student satisfaction ratings averaged 4.83/5.0 for ease of use, 4.83/5.0 for information relevance, and 4.60/5.0 for helpfulness. Qualitative feedback confirmed stigma reduction and improved accessibility. The digital channel’s dominance (95.3% of users) demonstrates the chatbot’s effectiveness as a low-barrier gateway to professional academic counseling. The integrated physical-digital counseling artifact effectively addressed barriers to counseling utilization in an Indonesian Islamic university context. The DSR methodology provided a rigorous framework for systematic service innovation. Design principles, including dual-channel delivery, de-stigmatized environments, and familiar-platform integration, are transferable to similar higher education contexts. Universities in developing countries can adopt the MIKA model as a scalable, low-cost approach to improving student support services. The WhatsApp-based chatbot infrastructure requires minimal technical investment while achieving significant reach. The design principles and DSR framework offer a replicable methodology for similar service innovation projects.

Usability of KAI: A generative AI chatbot to support mental health among university students in Latin America

2026-05-30T04:32:19-05:00

Mental health among university students in Latin America has been compromised by stress, depression, and anxiety, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Despite the vulnerability of this population and the potential of digital tools, the actual adoption of chatbots for psychological support remains low due to doubts about their effectiveness and ease of use. The purpose of this study is to analyze the usability of KAI, a virtual assistant powered by generative artificial intelligence designed to assess symptoms using the DASS-21 scale and offer personalized recommendations. The methodology employed a mixed-methods descriptive and exploratory approach with 112 students from three Latin American universities, using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and qualitative interviews with psychology students. The main results indicate that the chatbot has outstanding usability and high acceptability, with a positive perception of its ease of use and security, although significant differences in evaluation were identified among the participating institutions. The main conclusion highlights that KAI is an intuitive and technologically viable tool that functions as a scalable emotional support resource, provided it maintains strict professional referral protocols in cases of high severity.

Engineering’s curriculums between market demands pull & technology push

2026-05-31T23:56:56-05:00

Engineering is considered as a prominent subject of education in universities around the globe, the graduates of engineering are usually professionals, technologists, engineers, marketing agents and project managers. Industry and Economy in general are profoundly depending on technology, more over technology itself is developing so rapid to accommodate the needs of industry – this process called “demand pull” for technology , on the other hand . Engineering services and tools are pushed into new edges of technology to survive and to compete among other technological competitors, which is called “technology push”. Teaching and learning technology have the same context and influence as for industry, this reflexive relation will affects directly the engineering educational techniques . Engineering curriculums and teaching / training methodologies must be modified to accommodate the highly pace developing in technology.. The academic institutions must recognize these two technology forces on society ( Demand Pull, Technology Push), and take them in consideration, to produce graduates that can work in modern tools and devices, This paper concludes by proposing a framework for curriculum development that ensures graduates are not only market-ready but also capable of leading future technological transformations.

Study of raw cotton and fine debris movement in a pneumatic conveying system and reduction of impurity concentration in bunker cotton

2026-06-01T01:39:20-05:00

This article analyzes the movement of raw cotton and small debris in the pneumatic conveying system used by cotton pickers. The numerical study was conducted using the Ansys Fluent software package, which offers extensive turbulence modeling capabilities, including RNG k-ε, SST k-ω, LES, and other models. These features allow for a detailed examination of the turbulent fluctuations affecting particle trajectories. The numerical calculations revealed that when small debris approaches cotton bundles, some particles cling to and penetrate deeply between the cotton fibers, while others bend around the cotton bundles and continue moving. The study's results indicate that to reduce the contamination of raw cotton with small debris during its passage through the pneumatic conveying system, it is advisable to lower the debris concentration in the air-cotton mixture. Furthermore, it was found that using a U-shaped receiving chamber in the pneumatic conveying system significantly decreases the concentration of cotton debris in the air, leading to a 20–25% reduction in impurities in the bunker raw cotton collected by a vertical spindle cotton harvesting machine.

Digital transformation and crisis management: Evidence from Al-Iman governmental hospital at Ajloun Governoratex

2026-06-01T02:00:25-05:00

The study aims to identify the effect of digital transformation on crisis management and study the overall level of digital transformation implementation at Al-Iman Governmental Hospital in Ajloun Governorate. Its relied on a descriptive-analytical approach, and data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to the sample of 248 employees. The results showed that the level of digital transformation implementation at Al-Iman Governmental Hospital was generally moderate. Its recommended strengthening the adoption of digital transformation at Al-Iman Governmental Hospital.

Hardware-in-the-loop-based SVPWM control of a PMSG-based wind energy conversion system

2026-06-02T06:29:11-05:00

Simulation-based validation of Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation (SVPWM) algorithms often fails to capture numerical, timing, and communication limitations encountered during deployment on embedded hardware. This study proposes a low-cost serial-communication-coupled embedded validation framework to assess the SVPWM switching-state computation of the machine-side converter in a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG)-based horizontal-axis wind turbine energy conversion system. The aerodynamic model of the wind turbine, the electrical dynamics of the PMSG, the bidirectional converter, the speed control loop, and the d-q current control loops were developed using MATLAB/Simulink. In contrast, the computationally critical SVPWM functions, including sector identification, hold time calculation, and switching state generation, were implemented on an Arduino UNO microcontroller. The framework employs serial communication between the simulation environment and embedded controller, providing a practical intermediate validation stage. It is intended as a preliminary embedded validation platform rather than a cycle-by-cycle PWM-synchronous real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) system. Comparative analysis demonstrates that the Arduino-executed SVPWM algorithm successfully reproduces the dominant transient and steady-state characteristics observed in the ideal Simulink implementation. Generator-speed, d-q current, and d-q voltage responses exhibit close agreement, while the remaining discrepancies are minor and attributable to finite-precision arithmetic, serial data exchange, embedded execution delays, and communication latency. The proposed framework effectively bridges the gap between simulation-only verification and advanced real-time implementation by enabling practical assessment of embedded SVPWM computation under realistic operating constraints. The framework offers an accessible and cost-effective approach for preliminary validation of embedded SVPWM implementations in PMSG-based wind energy systems, reducing development risk before transitioning to high-fidelity real-time HIL platforms or full-scale power-hardware experiments.

Transformational leadership, job performance and innovation: The mediating role of knowledge sharing in Lebanese SMEs

2026-06-04T10:12:17-05:00

This paper investigates the influence of Transformational Leadership on Job Performance and Innovative Work Behavior within the volatile context of Lebanese Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) amid a severe national socio-economic crisis. The research aims to examine Knowledge Sharing as a critical mediating mechanism that translates leadership efforts into organizational outcomes, thereby enabling SMEs to survive. Adopting a positivist, deductive approach, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 400 employees across diverse managerial levels and sectors. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to evaluate the hypothesized causal pathways and the robustness of the measurement model. The findings provide strong evidence that transformational leadership (TFL) acts as a powerful direct driver of both job performance (JP) and innovative work behavior (IWB), confirming its effectiveness even in high-pressure, resource-constrained environments. While knowledge sharing (KS) significantly influences performance and innovation, its mediating role is found to be contingent on specific contextual boundary conditions. These results conclude that leadership is a primary lever for stability in crisis-stricken markets. Practically, the study implies that SME owners should prioritize transformational behaviors and formalize knowledge sharing protocols to sustain employee output and creative problem-solving especially during periods of national instability.

The possibilities of using biochar for the reclamation of anthropogenic-disturbed soils Using the example of Russky island

2026-06-06T05:22:56-05:00

As a result of the construction, the soil is degraded, losing horizons and fertility. Recultivation of urban soils is important for the formation of agroecosystems. Biochar can be used to improve the quality of urban soil. This study examines the effect of biochar on the restoration of anthropogenic soils. The study was conducted on the soils of Russian Island (Russia), where horizon A and partly B were removed because of the construction of the Far Eastern Federal University campus. Biochar from birch was introduced into the soil in 2023 in doses of 0 kg/m², 1 kg/m² and 3 kg/m² in three repetitions. The study was conducted for three years. During the three years of the field experiment, the formation of a humus horizon up to 1.5 cm thick, an increase in the content of organic carbon and the formation of a humate-fulvate type of humus were recorded. In 2023, CO₂ fluxes in areas with biochar decreased compared to control, and in 2024, carbon dioxide fluxes in areas with biochar were higher compared to the control. Measurement of CO₂ fluxes at sites confirms the formation of a root-habitable layer, which increases the contribution of roots to soil respiration.

Measuring fintech development through composite indices: A text-mining-based review of fintech index studies

2026-06-09T06:05:55-05:00

Fintech has become one of the most dynamic and rapidly expanding domains in financial innovation, profoundly transforming the way financial products and services are designed, delivered, and consumed. To evaluate the level of fintech development across countries, regions, and markets, it is essential to construct a comprehensive and data-driven metric - a Fintech Index - that enables comparative assessment and evidence-based policy formulation. This study provides a systematic literature review of research that has contributed to the conceptualization and construction of fintech index. By applying a text mining approach to Scopus database on fintech-related publications, we employ automated techniques to extract, classify, and synthesize key themes, methodological approaches, and index dimensions. The review framework integrates several stages of data mining—data collection, cleaning, and transformation—combined with natural language processing (NLP) and topic modeling (LDA) to identify dominant research clusters and emerging topics in the fintech index literature. Our findings reveal that most existing studies focus on three core dimensions: fintech development indicators, adoption indicators and financial inclusion indicators. Existing studies show that Fintech contributes to industry growth, innovation, green finance, sustainability, and entrepreneurial development by reducing financial constraints and improving resource mobilization. Fintech adoption is mainly driven by perceived usefulness, trust, institutional support, social influence, and facilitating conditions. Meanwhile, Fintech inclusion expands access to digital financial services, supports poverty reduction, and promotes inclusive economic growth. This paper contributes both a methodological framework for text-mining–based literature reviews and a conceptual synthesis that advances understanding of how fintech indices are defined, structured, and operationalized in global research.