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Background This research investigated the dynamics of fee-free higher education in South Africa, analysing the interplay of socioeconomic, political, and institutional factors to elucidate the complexities surrounding its implementation and impact. Using a causal loop diagram approach (CLD), the study aims to identify key factors to effective implementation, how they interact to shape the outcome of the policy, and actionable strategies to address the challenges hindering the policy sustainability. Method A participatory approach was used to developing the CLD, integrating insights from an extensive literature review and stakeholder opinion. The initial CLD was constructed based on evidence from prior research contextualizing fee-free higher education within South Africa's unique socio-political sector. Discussions with stakeholders and experts provided critical feedback to refine the model, ensuring its relevance and accuracy. The CLD methodology was selected for its ability to illustrate complex interdependencies and systemic challenges. Results Key findings highlight the impact of funding constraints, which create reinforcing feedback loops limiting access and infrastructure improvements. Also, administrative inefficiencies within the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) result in delays and inconsistencies, reducing policy inclusivity, and decentralized implementation across institutions perpetuates disparities in quality and access. Conclusion The study concludes the urgent need for systemic reforms, including digitising financial aid processes, centralising NSFAS operations, and improving resource allocation to under-resourced institutions. Furthermore, the study aligns with global goals, particularly Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 (Quality Education), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and 10 (Reduced Inequalities), as well as the African Agenda 2063's focus on human capital development. While the findings offer valuable recommendations for policymakers, further research is needed to explore longitudinal impacts of these reforms and expand comparative analyses with other nations implementing similar policies.

Equality of opportunity is about leveling the playing field so that circumstances such as gender, ethnicity, place of birth, or family background do not influence a person's life chances. Success in life should depend on people's choices, effort and talents, not to their circumstances at birth. 'Measuring Inequality of Opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean' introduces new methods for measuring inequality of opportunities and makes an assessment of its evolution in Latin America over a decade. An innovative Human Opportunity Index and other parametric and non-parametric techniques are presented for quantifying inequality based on circumstances exogenous to individual efforts. These methods are applied to gauge inequality of opportunities in access to basic services for children, learning achievement for youth, and income and consumption for adults.

This article provides an analysis of changes in Hmong American employment status, income, poverty and public assistance rates and educational attainment over time using 2016-2020 American Community Survey PUMS and 2020 Census data.

Background With the explosion of techniques for recording electrical brain activity, our recognition of neurodiversity has expanded significantly. Yet, uncertainty exists regarding sex differences in electrical activity during sleep and whether these differences, if any, are associated with social parameters. We synthesised existing evidence applying the PROGRESS-Plus framework, which captures social parameters that may influence brain activity and function. Methods We searched five databases from inception to December 2024, and included English language peer-reviewed research examining sex differences in electrical activity during sleep in healthy participants. We performed risk of bias assessment following recommended criteria for observational studies. We reported results on sex differences by wave frequency (delta, theta, alpha, sigma, beta, and gamma) and waveforms (spindle and sawtooth), positioning results across age-related developmental stages. We created visualizations of results linking study quality and consideration of PROGRESS-Plus parameters, which facilitated certainty assessment. Results Of the 2,783 unique citations identified, 28 studies with a total of 3,374 participants (47% male, age range 4–5 months to 101 years) were included in data synthesis. Evidence of high certainty reported no sex differences in alpha and delta relative power among participants in middle-to-late adulthood. Findings of moderate certainty suggest no sex differences in alpha power; and theta, sigma and beta relative power; and delta density. There is evidence of moderate certainty suggesting that female participants had a steeper delta wave slope and male participants had greater normalized delta power. Evidence that female participants have higher spindle power density is of low certainty. All other findings were regarded as very low in certainty. The PROGRESS-Plus parameters were rarely integrated into the methodology of studies included in this review. Conclusion Evidence on the topic of sex differences in sleep wave parameters is variable. It is possible that the reported results reflect unmeasured social parameters, instead of biological sex. Future research on sex differences in sleep should be discussed in relevance to functional or clinical outcomes. Development of uniform testing procedures across research settings is timely. PROSPERO: CRD42022327644. Funding: Canada Research Chairs (Neurological Disorders and Brain Health, CRC-2021-00074); UK Pilot Award for Global Brain Health Leaders (GBHI ALZ UK-23-971123).

[...]can we depend on a socio-economic system founded upon it? [...]wealth tends to remain a prerogative of those who share similar characteristics in a self-perpetuating and self-reinforcing cycle. According to the US National Bureau of Economic Research, children whose parents are in the top 1% of income earners are 77 times more likely to attend an Ivy League college in America than those whose parents are in the bottom income quintile. Provided that risks to human life, civil rights, and the planet are prevented, my proposed model adopts a more optimistic approach to technological and scientific progress.

The Ambaji region in Gujarat, Western India, harbors a wealth of geoheritage sites, characterized by diverse geological formations, cultural landmarks, and ecological wonders. This paper presents a comprehensive investigation into the geoheritage values of the Ambaji region, aiming to identify and categorize significant sites for conservation and sustainable tourism development. Through detailed field traverses and observations, thirty geoheritage sites have been identified, covering a range of geological features. Additionally, the region boasts religiously significant sites, ecologically rich areas, and tourist attractions, enhancing its overall geoheritage value. The study highlights the potential for establishing a geopark in the Ambaji region, which would not only promote the conservation of its geological heritage but also stimulate economic growth and community development through sustainable tourism practices. Embracing the concept of geotourism and geoconservation can position the Ambaji region as a model for integrated and sustainable development, balancing environmental preservation with socio-economic progress.

This chapter addresses a conundrum born of an emphasis on individuality shared by theories of friendship as praxis. It examines whether friendship is useful as a metaphor for gendered solidarities across difference in cultures wherein ideas such as individuated and conditional love, challenge to patriarchal family customs, and sensitivity to difference come to be recognized as the norms for socioeconomic progress, or even as marketable tropes of (neo)human connectivity. The chapter delves into this concern through exploring one influential lens of neoliberal imagination. It looks at commercially released Indian “border” cinema centering on women who are proactive in forging friendly solidarities in the breach of familial boundaries (heteropatriarchal; ability-centered; national and racial; religion-, clan-, caste-based).

Socioeconomic status is a major predictor of educational achievement. This systematic review and meta-analysis seeks to identify effective academic interventions for elementary and middle school students with low socioeconomic status. Included studies have used a treatment-control group design, were performed in OECD and EU countries, and measured achievement by standardized tests in mathematics or reading. The analysis included 101 studies performed during 2000 to 2014, 76% of which were randomized controlled trials. The effect sizes (ES) of many interventions indicate that it is possible to substantially improve educational achievement for the target group. Intervention components such as tutoring (ES = 0.36), feedback and progress monitoring (ES = 0.32), and cooperative learning (ES = 0.22) have average ES that are educationally important, statistically significant, and robust. There is also substantial variation in effect sizes, within and between components, which cannot be fully explained by observable study characteristics.

Current literature suggests two kinds of congruence that come into play when students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds enter elite universities: academic fit and social fit. Yet, in most of the studies on habitus transformation, the differences between the two are seldom mentioned. This may imply that the transformation of one aspect guarantees success in the transformation of the other aspect. In this article, we present the data from an ongoing longitudinal study on a group of academically successful rural students at four Chinese elite universities. We will show how they start with a compartmentalized fit between their original habitus and the elite milieu they enter, and how this pattern tends to produce two different types of outcomes: “habitus transformation” and “habitus hysteresis.” Importantly, with either of these outcomes, these students do not have to experience “hidden injuries of the class,” alienating themselves from families and former peer groups.

This study explored poverty attribution in terms of socio-economic factors, based on a survey of 1,110 participants living Turkey’s three largest cities, namely Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. We include the following socio-economic variables: income, subjective class status, subjective destiny perception, education level, political position, gender, marital status, and age. Participants with higher education levels mostly explain poverty using structural reasons whereas participants with lower education levels tend to explain it with fatalistic reasons. Left- wing participants tend to explain poverty in terms of structural factors for reasons whereas right-wing participants tend to give individualistic reasons. Finally, men tend to offer more individualistic attributions of poverty than women do. Individualistic and structuralist approaches agree on several specific policies for reducing poverty whereas the fatalistic approach suggests different policies.