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Dark Souls heralded a shift from the dichotomy of survival horror, and instead, thrust the player into a world where narrative was everywhere (if only you dared to look). This chapter explores the reimagination of Gothic narrative and narrative engagement in the cryptic and fragmented nested narratives of the iconic FromSoftware, Inc. series. In doing so, this chapter highlights the emergence of a hybrid ludo-narrative form within the Gothic genre, and examines the ways in which the series presents said narratives to the player as it shifts the onus of narrative engagement from the storyteller to the one now living the experience. The chapter explores video-ludic interpretations of death, play, and experientiality through the lens of video game studies, and posits the value of the series as a defining moment in the Japanese action role-playing game genre.

The internationally well known Minamata disease caused by methyl mercury poisoning, which has been described as a great tragedy of the modern Japanese state in the 20th century, in terms of a particular history of the “soul” narratives and practices is discussed. These narratives and practices are sometimes excluded from the authentic narratives in the state. I am exploring a historical vision connecting to the future of the Minamata disease victims as the “souls” of the Minamata disease after the “Final Settlement” in 1996. The paper's goal to suggest the “souls” of the Minamata disease is becoming out of place and it was articulated to some local people who experienced tragedies in the colonial or post-colonial situations.

Corruption is a global phenomenon. The 2016 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Report and the 2019 Malaysia National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) Report stated that the government sector most prone to corruption is procurement. The purpose of this study is to explore what drives the government procurement practitioners to commit corruption or uphold integrity. The novelty of this research is it focusses on the human aspect based on a human model which comprises both the physical and non-physical dimensions. It incorporated four theories which are the virtue theory, transaction cost theory (TCT), human governance (HG) philosophy and Al-Ghazali theory of the soul to design the research framework.

This approach to counteract corruption is through the inner “Self” (spirituality) and is not limited or bound to processes, procedures, rules, regulations, systems and structures.

The findings obtained through the phenomenological method suggest that the Inciting Soul is the driver behind corruption. This happens when intellect (‘Aql) becomes submissive to appetition (Shahwa) and self-assertion (Ghadab) resulting in vice characters. In upholding integrity, Soul-at-Peace is the driver where intellect dominates appetition and self-assertion leading to virtue characters. The HG philosophy is what encapsulates the taxonomy of virtue character.

This research concentrates only on understanding why corruption happens among those with authority. Nevertheless, this research did not delve into the inculcation of HG. Therefore, the authors would suggest for future research is to explore techniques to inculcate the ability of an individual to exercise all the necessary inner “Self” functions (to curb corruption) without having intervention from an external authority.

Corruption is a global phenomenon. The 2016 OECD Report and the 2019 Malaysia NACP Report found that procurement is the government sector most prone to corruption.

The novelty of this research is its focus on the human aspect based on the model of a human comprising both the physical and non-physical dimensions. The theoretical framework integrates the virtue theory, TCT, HG philosophy and Al-Ghazali theory of the Soul.

De/uncolonizing educational visions in the context of insistent and persistent ecological violence is an urgent task, one requiring profound shifts in thinking, being and knowing. Meraki is a Greek word denoting something done or undertaken with all of one's soul. Metanoia is also a Greek word signifying a deep shift in one's way of life resulting from a profound change of heart and worldview. Metis is a figure in Greek mythology known for wisdom and deep thought, but the word has also been used to mean a deeper spiritual awareness or consciousness. This chapter, written by a Greek educator on Turtle Island, explores the imaginaries of ancient Greek ways of knowing with her responsibilities to support decolonizing processes in the place in which she now lives. The author identifies the process of regeneration, of replacing or restoring damaged or missing dimensions of life as a call to which our educational systems must respond. Regeneration is synonymous with rebuilding, restoration, rehabilitation, revival, rebirth, redemption, renewal, recovery, and reconstruction. Her recognition that metanoia (a profound transformative shift) resulting in regeneration done with meraki (soul) and grounded in metis (wisdom and spiritual knowing) forms the basis of her revisioning of schooling and community. In reclaiming hidden structures of Greek wisdom, the author dives below the often incomplete frames of “western” ways of knowing and discourses to redeem deeper ontological frequencies hidden beneath the surface, joining these in constellation with other de/uncolonizing discourses and movements to redeem a “wholeness of being” that must be regenerated for planetary survival. This chapter traces a vision for leadership that reclaims the depth of Spirit and soul that are the basis upon which we can heal the traumas of the legacies of fragmentation, division and violence and remake/regenerate our educational systems.

This paper aims to examine the effects of taqwa (God-consciousness) and syukr (gratitude to God) on emotional intelligence (EI) in a Muslim population in Malaysia.

Structural equation modelling tool AMOS was used to test the study’s hypotheses. In total, data were sourced from 302 Muslim employees working in Malaysia's public and private sectors.

Taqwa and syukr positively influence EI, and people with taqwa and syukr demonstrate greater levels of self-emotional appraisal compared with other emotional appraisals. This study also shows that people with taqwa and syukr give increased priority to understanding and distinguishing positive and negative emotions because of their understanding of Islamic teachings. They also exhibit concern with knowing their emotions well before advising or responding to the emotions of others. This may increase their sense of empathy, thereby improving their emotional competency and EI.

The findings indicate that taqwa and syukr predispose Muslims to EI. This study applied the Qur’anic model of self-development, which connects the origin of emotion with the soul, thereby further enriching the literature on the subject. It also highlights the importance of taqwa and syukr to Muslim employees for achieving EI that is useful in creating a harmonious atmosphere in the workplace and prosperous relationships in society.

This paper seeks to explores the notion that leadership is not the accumulation of leadership skills but the discovery and expression of a leader's true nature. The paper also aims to introduce the concept of the 4Ps of soul leadership.

This paper offers the author's independent perspective and commentary on leadership development in the current organizational context.

The paper finds that the strongest leaders are those that lead through an awareness and expression of their unique 4Ps (passion, purpose, possibilities, place) of soul leadership. This is increasingly true in complex, global environments of unprecedented change.

Leadership development (and skill building in general) is more effective if built on a foundation of self‐awareness and connection to an individual's 4Ps.

Soul leadership encourages individuals and organizations to be the best possible version of themselves. In aligning to one's passions and purpose natural leadership, productivity and creativity are likely to come to the fore, which fuels individual, organizational and societal growth in turn.

Reframing leadership as a unique expression of an individual's 4Ps with implications for individuals, organizational leaders and learning and development practitioners.

Rather than an attempt to define or clarify resilience in terms of its characteristics, or its correspondence to reality, this paper is a series of reflections that leads to the notion of resilience as a way of being in the world. What is presented is not intended to be conclusive in any way. The paper aims to trigger thoughtful reflections that will lead to further conversations about the entailments and ethical concerns implicit in the concept of resilience.

The paper comprises reflections based on a selection of published ideas, as well as on personal engagement in the domains of ecology and the biology of cognition. In postulating that resilience may have a central, ineffable quality, the phrase “soul of” has been used as an approach to considering what such a quality may be. This formulation leads to a consideration about the nature of our relationships with the other such that the notion of resilience has become meaningful.

Language parses or chunks named ideas in a way that reveals some regularities and obscures others. The word resilience is one such chunk that historically has changed its meaning. Furthermore in the present the word refers to variable aspects or elements depending on the context of its usage. In the ecological context, resilience entails an ambiguous balance between persistence and change, and indeed this ambiguity may be necessary to accommodate the complexities. In all cases the author has considered, we are only concerned with resilience where there is an ethical dimension and this, inherently, must be multidimensional given the complexities of the systems being regarded. The author claims that the soul of resilience arises through an ethically oriented reflexive awareness of our dynamic flow in a relational embeddedness.

The practical implications of this paper are elusive, yet meaningful, as the paper attempts to open space for operating in an ethical and useful manner with ambiguous concepts and for avoiding the hubris of certainty. The paper is an explication of one of the ways of thinking inspired by second order science.

As the reflections in this paper are largely those original to the author, the ideas are original. Whether they have value depends on what ideas, attitudes, orientations and further reflections are triggered and whether these in turn implicitly or explicitly alter actions toward more effective care of our world. If reflection on resilience increases resilience, then this paper will have value.

The purpose of this paper is to present a comparative study of selected existing library automation software available in India.

The literature search was carried out to collect the data regarding library automation, library software. Survey, questionnaire and personal visit to local library software developer, method were used. The questionnaire was designed on the basis of software application, operating system used, hardware requirement and modules provided. These questionnaires were sent to all software developers. On receiving of the ten questionnaires, data were analyzed and tabulated. The last step was report preparation and drawing conclusions.

It is observed that total ten software provided acquisition, cataloguing, online public access catalog (OPAC), circulation and serial control facility. Only five library softwares provide online facility. Out of ten library software; LibSys is the highly rated one having 37 software features followed by SOUL software having 36 points followed by 35 points of Wolk Soft Tech software. SLIM 21 and SLM+ + has 34 points. It is necessary to improve the quality of software for providing effective services. In circulation, 18 features are added. Out of 18 features, SOUL has all the 18 features and is highly ranked followed by Libman, SLIM 21, SLIM+ +and Wolk Soft tech have 17 point each, respectively. Libtech has 16 circulation features. In the OPAC module, 20 features have been studied. Out of 20 features, Libman has all the 20 features and is highly rated followed by SOUL software, which includes 19 features. Out of 20 features, LibSys has 18 software features. Out of 11 features, LibSys, SLIM 21 and SOUL has all 11 features followed by DELPLUS, Libman and Libtech having ten points each. In serial control, six features are added. Out of six features, I‐Lib, Libman, LibSys, Libtech, SLIM 21, SLIM++, Softlib and SOUL have all the six features followed by four features in DELPLUS, and Wolk Soft tech. The credibility of library software packages is evaluated on the basis of their salient features and the facilities available in the software. On the basis of the salient features, and the facilities provided, the software is ranked by giving points to each facility as per features. SOUL software scored first rank (90 points) among all ten software followed by Libman (84 points) and LibSys (83 points).

In total, 72 library automation software packages have been developed in India. But for this study, ten selected software packages have been chosen on the basis of their usability and implementation to libraries.

After this study, one can enable to evaluate the library automation software packages and ranks them according to their features so that they can implement the particular software for library automation to their own library.

The paper provides a comprehensive picture of features, facilities available and services rendered by various library automation software packages in India. None of the research has been done till now on evaluation of these ten library software in India.