South African higher education institutions (HEIs) are working towards transforming the education system that was exclusionary to previously disadvantaged groups, such as students with disabilities.

This study investigated the forms, meanings, and contours of contemporary urban culture, space, and identity in the South African port city and municipality of eThekwini/Durban. The production and representation of urban culture, identity and space were examined regarding media representations of the city and lived experiences of purposively selected participants, cultural actors, and practitioners who live and work in the city.

Early alcohol consumption has become a growing problem in South Africa, where 67% of adolescents from the ages of 11 to 18 have reported drinking alcohol at least once in their lifetime. Underage drinking is associated with numerous consequences for the physical and social development of adolescents. Schools are the ideal setting to educate adolescents about alcohol prevention; however, school-based alcohol prevention interventions implemented by the South African government and non-governmental organisations are evidently ineffective in curbing underage drinking.

The marginalisation of black women’s social and sociological knowledge production during Apartheid South Africa stemmed from its racialised and gendered structure. Apartheid created an environment in which Eurocentric and androcentric narratives, supported by various academic and liberal institutions, flourished while the voices of black women went unheard or unacknowledged in public discourses.

South African literature indicates that LGBTIQ+ people continue to encounter discrimination and oppression in various social spaces due to heteronormative ideologies that create barriers to acceptance and tolerance of sexual diversity. While much of the literature examines spaces such as schools, universities, churches, family settings, and both rural and urban communities, limited attention has been given to gay identities within traditional male-dominated workplaces.

We are currently in the midst of a memoir boom characterised by an increase in the production and promotion of memoirs by public figures. For example, in 2023, Britney Spears’ memoir, The Woman in Me sold 1,1 million copies in the first week of its release. A few months before that, Spare, a memoir by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, set a Guinness World Record for the fastest-selling non-fiction book (1.43 million copies on the first day). The proliferation of memoirs and/or autobiography has led to renewed interest in its study.

This study investigated the livelihood challenges faced by informal waste pickers in Mahikeng, South Africa and developed intervention guidelines to enhance their socioeconomic conditions. Despite their significant contribution to environmental sustainability and resource recovery, informal waste pickers operate under precarious conditions characterised by economic vulnerability, health risks, and social marginalisation.