This volume, Mental Health Challenges in Academia: Stressors Faced by Students and Faculty, bravely confronts the issues that many in higher education endure but few openly discuss. From the strains of balancing teaching, research, and administrative duties to the financial pressures, cultural challenges, and emotional burdens faced by students, it brings together a diverse range of perspectives to paint a holistic picture of academic life. It highlights both the systemic issues and the deep personal stories that reveal how intertwined our professional achievements are with our personal well- being. In doing so, it not only informs but also reassures its readers: you are not alone, and there are ways forward.

We owe this amazing collection to the vision and dedication of Aras Bozkurt of the Anadolu University (Türkiye), who, with characteristic energy and imagination, has brought together a remarkable community of voices. Having collaborated with Aras on several AI in education research, I can say with certainty that he not only advances the field with rigor but also infuses it with creativity and warmth. This volume reflects that spirit: diverse in scope, rich in insight, and committed to the future of education as a human endeavor. To Aras and to all the book chapter con tributors, not only my thanks but the thanks of every reader who will learn, reflect, and dream alongside these pages. Your work is a gift to our field and a reminder that scholarship can be both courageous in its critique and generous in its vision. Rarely does a book succeed in being both a mirror to our present and a lantern lighting the path ahead.

The Pitfalls of AI Integration in Education: Skill Obsolescence, Misuse, and Bias book is a response to the research gaps and unanswered questions. It is a deliberate shift away from techno-utopianism toward a grounded, critical engagement with AI's role in shaping educational futures. While much of the prevailing discourse celebrates possibility, we have chosen to examine peril: the risk of skill atrophy when generative tools supplant creative labor, the encroachment of surveillance technologies under the guise of pedagogical support, and the entrenchment of biases within algorithmic systems that claim neutrality while operationalizing historical inequities. Our contributors span the domains of education, computer science, ethics, policy, and cognitive science, offering a multidisciplinary interrogation of the unintended, often unanticipated, consequences of AI integration in classrooms, curricula, and institutional systems. We are not alarmists but realists. We do not advocate abandoning AI, nor do we harbor nostalgia for a pre-digital past. Rather, we argue for a more discerning adoption—one anchored in pedagogical intent, procedural transparency, and an unwavering commitment to human dignity. In many ways, this book could be read as a companion to the emerging genre of speculative nonfiction—not because it forecasts distant futures, but because it interrogates the ones currently under construction, often without democratic deliberation or ethical guardrails. If history and speculative fiction alike have taught us anything, it is that technological progress, when left unchecked, tends to obscure the deeper values at stake. We invite you, therefore, to read these chapters not merely as a critique but as a provocation—to think more deeply, act more responsibly, and imagine more boldly the kinds of educational futures we truly want to build.

PE often finds itself overlooked in the broader discourse on educational innovation, despite its crucial role in fostering lifelong health and well-being. Unlike subjects that easily attract attention due to their academic prestige or technological allure, PE is sometimes seen as secondary, relegated to the sidelines of educational reform. Yet, in an age where global health challenges such as obesity, mental health disorders, and sedentary lifestyles are increasingly prevalent (World Health Organization, 2020), the significance of PE cannot be understated. The Global Innovations in Physical Education and Health book seeks to challenge this perception by highlighting the transformative potential of innovative approaches in PE and health education (Garcia, Lopez Cabrera, et al., 2023). It brings together 69 experts from nine countries—Indonesia, Philippines, China, Ireland, United Arab Emirates, Portugal, India, USA, and Canada—to explore how these innovations are reshaping the way we teach, experience, and benefit from PE, making it a field deserving of as much attention and innovation as any other educational domain. This book serves as a crucial resource in guiding the development of more effective, inclusive, and culturally aware health and PE programs. It sets the foundation for actionable teaching and learning models in various educational and cultural contexts. The coverage includes insights into how different countries approach PE, the integration of health education within these programs, and their impact on student health and academic achievement.

In an age where technology seamlessly integrates into healthcare, identifying effective strategies for this integration becomes paramount. The Transformative Approaches to Patient Literacy and Healthcare Innovation book seeks to establish itself as a pivotal resource by investigating the deep impact of innovative technologies on the healthcare sector. This book brings together a cadre of respected professionals and academics across various fields to dissect the role of novel technologies in enhancing patient literacy and advancing healthcare delivery. It provides a comprehensive examination of how cutting-edge advancements like artificial intelligence, telemedicine, serious games, and extended realities are revolutionizing patient care and healthcare delivery. Aimed at a broad audience of healthcare providers, researchers, policy makers, educators, and patients, this compilation aims to foster a nuanced comprehension of both the benefits and complexities introduced by these technological innovations. Through a blend of contemporary research findings, illustrative case studies, and discussions on ethical implications, the book encourages readers to critically assess and embrace these innovations in healthcare. It offers insight into the present technological landscape and casts a visionary look towards the future, enabling readers to grasp the evolving dynamics of healthcare in the digital era.

The book Handbook of Research on Instructional Technologies in Health Education and Allied Disciplines provides comprehensive coverage of innovative methods and strategies to produce the next generation of health professionals. It lays the groundwork for implementable teaching and learning models that facilitate knowledge acquisition, enhance perceptual variation, improve skill coordination, and develop a scientific and technological mindset. It is designed to provide an in-depth look at the latest advancements and best practices in the field, with a specific emphasis on improving student learning outcomes and professional development. Each chapter provides an in-depth examination of instructional technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, gamification, telemedicine, chatbots, virtual and augmented realities, bioprinting, computer-assisted instruction (CAI), mobile health, smart learning environments, intelligent tutoring systems (ITS), and more. In addition, these chapters illustrate how these educational technologies can be effectively developed and implemented in real-world settings that are contextualized in various medical and health domains, including nursing, physiotherapy, radiology, neurophysiology, physical health, dentistry, clinical medicine, and more.

Socioeconomic Inclusion During an Era of Online Education aims to answer emerging questions on inclusive online education by exploring and collating the experiences and lessons learned during the implementation of emergency remote education. With the earlier than expected arrival of the online education era, best practices and innovative approaches from various educational institutions are concrete paradigms for safeguarding the promise of an undivided future of learning through equal access to quality education from a distance. Covering topics from learning space to education governance, this reference work is ideal for policymakers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, scholars, instructors, and students seeking to adjust and adapt to teaching and learning online not only during a pandemic (i.e., emergency remote education) but also during “normal times”. As much as this book raises socioeconomic issues involving online education as the primary mode of teaching and learning, a theme as diverse and expansive as inclusivity and technology-based instruction restricts the opportunity of addressing the multiplicity of viewpoints across various spectrums. Therefore, the anthology of these chapters is consequently and intentionally diverse and echoes the mission of inclusive education by compiling a variety of perspectives, experiences, traditions, and frameworks.