Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative technology across educational and research environments, particularly in English Language Education (ELE) and Social Sciences Research (SSR). The increasing adoption of AI-powered tools such as intelligent tutoring systems, automated writing evaluators, machine translation applications, generative AI platforms, and data analytics software has significantly influenced teaching methodologies, learning outcomes, research practices, and academic productivity. While AI offers unprecedented opportunities for personalized learning, language assessment, curriculum development, research automation, and interdisciplinary collaboration, its rapid integration also raises complex ethical concerns. Issues related to privacy, data security, algorithmic bias, transparency, accountability, academic integrity, intellectual property rights, and human autonomy have become central debates within educational and research communities.

In English language education, AI systems facilitate adaptive learning experiences, automated feedback mechanisms, and language proficiency assessments. These technologies align with contemporary educational reforms emphasizing communicative competence, learner-centered pedagogy, and digital literacy (Don, 2016; Ministry of Education, 2015). However, ethical challenges emerge when AI-driven systems collect extensive learner data, potentially compromising privacy and creating unequal learning opportunities due to algorithmic biases. Similarly, in social sciences research, AI technologies enhance data collection, content analysis, predictive modeling, and knowledge generation. Nevertheless, concerns regarding research validity, reproducibility, informed consent, and ethical decision-making remain significant.

This paper critically examines the ethical implications of AI integration in English language education and social sciences research. Drawing upon interdisciplinary perspectives from educational theory, language policy, qualitative research methodology, and technological ethics, the study explores both opportunities and risks associated with AI implementation. The paper further proposes a comprehensive ethical framework emphasizing transparency, fairness, accountability, privacy protection, and human-centered AI governance. The findings suggest that ethical AI adoption requires collaborative efforts among educators, researchers, policymakers, and technology developers to ensure that innovation remains aligned with educational values and social responsibility.

This paper critically examines the enduring tension between national and international orientations in education systems within the Pacific, with a particular focus on Fiji. Situated within ongoing debates on globalization, decolonization, and the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the study interrogates how historically embedded colonial legacies continue to shape contemporary education policy, curriculum design, and pedagogical practices. Drawing on decolonial theory, particularly the works of Linda Tuhiwai Smith and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, alongside the concept of epistemic injustice advanced by Miranda Fricker, the paper argues that Western-dominated education systems systematically marginalize Indigenous knowledge, languages, and cultural identities.

Using a qualitative, policy-informed analytical approach, the study synthesizes regional literature, national policy frameworks, and global education discourses to explore how Fiji’s education system negotiates the competing imperatives of preserving national identity and achieving global competitiveness. The findings reveal that while international standards and global competencies, such as digital literacy, critical thinking, and innovation, are increasingly prioritized, they often reinforce Eurocentric epistemologies and contribute to the erosion of Indigenous knowledge systems and linguistic heritage. At the same time, national efforts to incorporate culturally responsive pedagogy and Indigenous perspectives remain fragmented and insufficiently institutionalized.

The paper advances a conceptual framework for a hybrid, context-responsive education model that reconciles these tensions by integrating Indigenous epistemologies with globally relevant skills. It emphasizes the importance of curriculum reform, bilingual and multilingual education policies, teacher professional development, and inclusive governance structures that actively engage local communities. In doing so, the study positions decolonising education not merely as a cultural project, but as a critical pathway toward epistemic justice, social equity, and sustainable development in Fiji and the broader Pacific region.

Ultimately, the paper contributes to global discussions on education reform by challenging binary distinctions between national and international education models. It argues for a transformative approach that recognizes the value of plural knowledge systems and reimagines education as a site for both cultural preservation and global engagement in the 21st century.

The growing global emphasis on Artificial Intelligence, data-driven research, and knowledge economies has intensified longstanding debates around the ownership, control, and ethical use of Indigenous knowledge systems. In Fiji and the wider Pacific, these debates are deeply rooted in colonial histories that facilitated the extraction, documentation, and external control of Indigenous knowledge without meaningful consent, recognition, or benefit-sharing. This paper critically examines the intersection of Indigenous knowledge, colonial legacies, and intellectual property rights (IPR) within the context of education and research in the Pacific region, with particular focus on Fiji.

Drawing on decolonial theory, critical pedagogy, and Indigenous epistemological frameworks, the study interrogates how historical and contemporary research practices have contributed to what can be conceptualized as epistemic dispossession, where Indigenous communities have been systematically excluded from ownership and governance of their own knowledge systems. The paper further explores how existing international legal instruments and policy frameworks, including those advanced by UNESCO and World Intellectual Property Organization, attempt to address issues of intellectual property protection, while highlighting their limitations in adequately safeguarding communal, oral, and culturally embedded knowledge traditions characteristic of Pacific societies.

The analysis situates Fiji within the broader Pacific discourse, emphasizing the importance of culturally responsive and community-centred approaches to research, education, and policy development. It argues that prevailing Western-centric intellectual property regimes often fail to recognize collective ownership, intergenerational knowledge transmission, and the relational nature of Indigenous epistemologies. As a result, there is an urgent need to reconceptualize intellectual property frameworks to align with Indigenous worldviews, ensuring that knowledge is not commodified or appropriated in ways that undermine cultural integrity and sovereignty.

Furthermore, the paper examines emerging efforts to reclaim ownership and agency, including the integration of Indigenous knowledge into national curricula, the development of ethical research protocols, and the strengthening of community-led governance structures. It highlights the role of higher education institutions, policymakers, and researchers in advancing equitable partnerships that prioritize informed consent, reciprocity, and benefit-sharing. The study also addresses the implications of digital technologies and AI, which present both opportunities for preservation and risks of further exploitation of Indigenous knowledge.

Ultimately, this paper contributes to ongoing scholarly and policy debates by proposing a transformative framework for reclaiming Indigenous intellectual sovereignty in Fiji and the Pacific. It calls for a shift from extractive research paradigms toward inclusive, ethical, and decolonized approaches that respect Indigenous rights, promote cultural sustainability, and ensure that knowledge production serves the communities from which it originates.

The accelerating transition toward the Fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR), characterized by the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI), digital technologies, and human-centred innovation, is fundamentally reshaping global knowledge systems and educational paradigms. Within this context, Indigenous knowledge systems and epistemologies face both unprecedented risks of marginalization and new opportunities for revitalization. This paper critically examines the positioning of Indigenous knowledge in education in Fiji and the Pacific, interrogating how such knowledge systems can sustain their epistemological relevance in an era increasingly dominated by technologically driven and Western-centric frameworks.

Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship and contextual analysis, the study explores the tensions between globalized digital knowledge economies and locally grounded, culturally embedded ways of knowing. It argues that prevailing education systems, often influenced by colonial legacies and standardized models, continue to privilege Western epistemologies, thereby undermining the legitimacy and integration of Indigenous knowledge. At the same time, the paper highlights emerging possibilities for reimagining education through the meaningful integration of Indigenous epistemologies with contemporary pedagogical approaches and digital innovations.

The analysis emphasizes the need for a paradigm shift toward decolonial, inclusive, and culturally responsive education systems that recognize Indigenous knowledge as dynamic, adaptive, and essential to sustainable development. It further argues that sustaining epistemological relevance requires not only curricular inclusion but also structural transformation in policy, pedagogy, and governance. Particular attention is given to the role of community engagement, language preservation, and culturally grounded pedagogies in strengthening the transmission and evolution of Indigenous knowledge.

Ultimately, the paper contends that the future of education in Fiji and the Pacific lies in the coexistence and integration of diverse knowledge systems. By repositioning Indigenous epistemologies within the 5IR, education can move beyond epistemic hierarchies toward more equitable, pluralistic, and contextually relevant learning environments. Such an approach is critical for fostering identity, resilience, and innovation in Pacific societies navigating the complexities of a rapidly changing technological world.

Psychological alienation is a profound and painful state of estrangement from oneself, others, and the social world, a condition in which individuals feel like strangers in their own lives, disconnected from their emotions, relationships, and sense of purpose. Unlike the transient loneliness that punctuates normal human experience, psychological alienation represents a chronic, pervasive sense of being fundamentally out of place, unloved, and unseen. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the theoretical and empirical literature on psychological alienation, tracing its conceptual origins in Marxist philosophy, existential phenomenology, and sociological theory before examining its clinical presentation, measurement, etiology, and treatment implications. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, the review synthesizes evidence that psychological alienation arises from a convergence of early relational trauma, social marginalization, adverse childhood experiences, and chronic invalidation. The condition is associated with elevated risks of depression, suicidality, substance use disorders, and personality pathology. Neurobiologically, alienation may be understood as involving dysfunction in the brain's social pain networks, particularly the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula, which process both physical and social rejection. Treatment approaches, including psychodynamic therapy, cognitive-behavioral interventions, and compassion-focused therapy, show promise but remain understudied. The paper concludes that psychological alienation, though often invisible in clinical settings, deserves recognition as a distinct and debilitating condition that lies at the heart of much contemporary suffering. There is something unspeakably sad about feeling alienated, about reaching for connection and finding only empty space, about living among others yet feeling utterly alone.