COVID-19 has transformed higher education learning and teaching practices globally. Tertiary students, internationally face both opportunities and challenges in learning and adapting to this paradigm shift in the delivery of education. It remains unclear how students in international contexts are responding to these changes in digital learning during and post-COVID-19. This paper aims to compare student perceptions of digital competence, confidence, and resilience in present times using data from surveys of tertiary students from Australia, Cambodia, China, India, and Malaysia. There are disparities not only in the teaching and learning pedagogies amongst these countries but also in the levels of technological advancement, infrastructure support, and pace of digital innovation in the delivery of courses. These differences have put in focus students’ both digital competencies and resilience as they pursue higher education on various digital learning platforms. Resilience includes the ability to bounce back or adapt from stress (Smith et al., 2008) Digital resilience is students’ tech-savviness and preparedness to adapt to different digital environments as they pursue higher education. This paper examines the perceptions of tertiary undergraduate students from these countries in this emerging new digital learning norm-. A total of 687 tertiary students from the aforementioned countries participated in a survey to questions related to digital competence, confidence in using and/or adapting to digital innovation, and resilience. Statistically significant attributes are identified to help better understand the challenges these culturally diverse students perceive in digital learning environments. This study will reveal barriers that impact the digital transformation of undergraduate students which can be used to recommend necessary teaching and learning support frameworks to enhance their digital competence and resilience. This will help tertiary institutions better equip all stakeholders in adapting to the new normal of higher education in the future.

The recent exponential increase in the presence of loot boxes and other forms of microtransactions in online games, together with the consequential development of a “token economy,” have created regulatory challenges around the world. The similarities between loot boxes and traditional forms of gambling give rise to serious and long-term psychological and financial risks, particularly among a largely minor, vulnerable audience. Regulators must, therefore, decide whether loot boxes and microtransactions should be addressed in the same manner as traditional gambling activities. Recognizing that the legal definition of gambling is a policy matter for different legislatures, this paper proposes a new classification framework for loot boxes and microtransactions that could be adopted as a guide by regulators and gaming publishers operating in the global, hyper-connected landscape of online gaming. The framework is designed to assist policy makers to achieve consumer welfare goals while also not unduly restricting the ability of adult consumers to make informed decisions as to when they participate in gambling-like activities or inappropriately interfering with the legitimate commercial endeavors of game developers. This paper advances nascent commentary in relation to the growing integration of microtransactions and loot boxes in the structure and content of video games and outlines a reform agenda informed by regulatory global responses to the issue.RésuméLa récente augmentation exponentielle des coffres à butin et d’autres formes de microtransactions qui sont intégrées aux jeux en ligne et favorisent une « économie de jetons » a donné lieu à des défis réglementaires dans le monde entier. Les similarités entre les coffres à butin et les formes traditionnelles de jeux de hasard ont entraîné de graves risques psychologiques et financiers à long terme, particulièrement chez un public en grande partie mineur et vulnérable. Les organismes de réglementation doivent donc décider si les coffres à butin et les microtransactions devraient être abordés de la même façon que les activités liées aux jeux de hasard traditionnels. Cet article reconnaît que la définition juridique des jeux de hasard est une question de politique relevant de différentes assemblées législatives, et propose pour les coffres à butin et les microtransactions un nouveau cadre de classification que pourraient adopter à titre de guide les organismes de réglementation et les distributeurs de jeux vidéo qui exercent leurs activités dans le contexte mondial hyperbranché des jeux en ligne. Ce cadre vise à aider les décideurs à atteindre des objectifs en matière de bien-être des consommateurs tout en ne restreignant pas indûment la capacité des consommateurs adultes à prendre des décisions éclairées concernant leur participation à des activités de type jeux de hasard, et en ne nuisant pas de manière inappropriée aux entreprises commerciales légitimes des développeurs de jeux. Cet article enrichit le discours naissant sur l’intégration croissante de microtransactions et de coffres à butin à la structure et au contenu des jeux vidéo, et décrit un programme de réforme éclairé par la réaction mondiale à la question sur le plan de la réglementation.

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