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The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a worldwide commitment to a set of ambitious goals that advance sustainable social justice across the globe. Higher education (HE), while featuring in SDG 4: Quality Education, needs to occupy a bolder and more explicit position in the formulation of the SDGs and in their attainment, not only as an instrument toward the achievement of the SDGs but also in the sociocultural consciousness of countries towards a more sustainable and socially just world. Engaging with students in HE around these issues plays a vital role. Given Student Affairs and Services' (SAS) role and position in terms of support and development of students worldwide, it is a key player in supporting HE to become a more effective instrument in advancing the SDGs and in advancing students' attitudes and commitment to SDGs. To explore how SAS can play a more impactful role in advancing the SDGs and SAS' role in and contribution to SDGs around the world, we researched SAS practitioners' awareness of and engagement with SDGs. To collect data, we used a survey with open and closed questions via snowball sampling with self-selected participants from fifty-three countries (N=318). The results of our study suggest that SAS practitioners engage with and utilize the SDGs in a variety of ways across the globe, thus contributing to the role HE plays in advancing SDGs. In exploring the patterns, it emerges that SAS in the Global South (GS) and Global North (GN) engage differently with the SDGs. According to the results of our study, SAS in the GS appears to have more awareness of, engage more deliberately with, and use the SDGs more broadly in their work with students. While there are different trends on the role SDGs play across the global HE sector, the consensus seems to be around the need to discuss and engage with the SDGs more deeply, at curricular and co-curricular levels in higher education. Our research suggests that HE and SAS can do much more to generate awareness of SDGs, particularly in the GN.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unique challenges to international students. Student Affairs and Services (SAS) across the higher education sector played a key role in supporting students and institutions during the pandemic. This article reports the findings of an exploratory survey with SAS practitioners from around the globe on the ways in which SAS responded to the pandemic and sought to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on students, in general, and international students specifically. The results demonstrate that international students were among the primary groups of students impacted by the pandemic. Specific challenges identified include mental well-being, inability to return home, financial hardships, fear, and uncertainty. Discrimination of certain groups was also noted. SAS intervened to assist international students in navigating these challenges across world regions, including services declared essential for international student support. Finally, financial implications and the future of international student support are explored.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the challenges that present obstacles to equitable learning and development in higher education in various parts of the world. African higher education and Student Affairs and Services (SAS) are faced with a set of challenges that are in part related to the resources within the institutions and in part due the sociocultural context into which the institutions are embedded. It is with this background that this study explores the impact of COVID-19 on SAS in Africa, as part of a wider lens on SAS across the globe. The study was conducted with an online survey which generated 781 responses of Student Affairs practitioners from across the globe, of which 118 were from the African continent. The data show SAS's critical role in mediating the various domains within and beyond the higher education institution that impact on student success. The domains that impact on student success include the students' personal experiences, the public domain, the sociocultural community and familial milieu, and the institutional/SAS domain. Thus, this article discusses SAS's critical role in mediating the impact of these four domains on the student living and learning experience. The purpose of this article is to discuss the data and to use the data to gain insights into the way SAS has played a role in mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 in four domains relevant for student success. Based on our findings, a systemic-contextual model is proposed that illustrates the relevance of four domains that need to synergise for students to be successful. Our data suggests that while SAS and universities do a great deal to support students in their learning, factors in the public domain, factors in the sociocultural community and familial milieu need to be conducive to learning to enable more student success in Africa.

Higher Education offerings have expanded over the last two decades in the Middle East and North Africa region. As a result, the authors share the beginnings of a regional association tied back to the United States that has created culturally relevant professional development programs and opportunities that enhance how the staff is supporting students.

Conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence is common in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, but there are few evaluations of multisectoral training interventions in conflict settings. We conducted high-quality, trauma-informed medicolegal trainings amongst multisectoral professionals and sought to describe changes in knowledge after training and perceived training acceptability. Participants were health, law enforcement, and legal professionals who completed training at one of four sites from January 2012 to December 2018. Twelve trainings were randomly selected for evaluation. We conducted pre- and post-training assessments and semi-structured interviews of participants within 12 months of index training. Forty-six trainings of 1,060 individuals were conducted during the study period. Of the randomly selected trainings, 368 questionnaires were included in the analysis (36% health, 31% legal, 12% law enforcement, 21% other). The mean knowledge scores (standard deviation) significantly improved after training: 77.9 (22.9) vs. 70.4 (20.8) (p <0.001). Four key benefits were identified: 1) improved cross-sector coordination; 2) enhanced survivor-centered care; 3) increased standardization of forensic practices; and 4) higher quality evidence collection. Participants completing the training had improved knowledge scores and perceived several key benefits, suggesting the multisectoral training was acceptable in this under-resourced, conflict region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy brief summary This policy brief can be seen in Naidoo et al. ([6]) and begins with information on the benefits of physical activity for the health of children and adolescents with a disability. Therefore, as part of a series of policy briefs to promote physical activity for health, during COVID-19 and beyond, a specific brief was co-developed for this vulnerable population in December 2020. Further dissemination of the policy brief is necessary, and public forum opportunities and conferences should be used as platforms in order to present the brief. [Extracted from the article]

The occurrence and diversity of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) and their symbiotic bacteria was evaluated in commercial forestry plantations (Eucalyptus spp., Pinus spp. and Acacia mearnsii) and indigenous forests in South Africa. EPN were most prevalent in A. mearnsii plantations, accounting for 60.7% of the isolates, while indigenous forests, plantations of Pinus spp. and Eucalyptus spp. accounted for 35.7, 3.6 and 0% of the isolates, respectively. DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and D2-D3 28S rDNA regions were used to identify the nematode species. Four Steinernema spp. were identified, including S. citrae, S. sacchari, two undescribed species, as well as Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and H. baujardi. Heterorhabditis baujardi is reported from South Africa for the first time. Analysis of 16S rRNA of the bacteria confirmed the presence of at least three Xenorhabdus species from Steinernema isolates and two subspecies of Photorhabdus luminescens from Heterorhabditis species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which assesses the decadal responses of eucalypt-dominated savanna to close fire regimes in Australia and Africa. The study shows the mean annual frequency of plot burning at 0.53 over the study period. It illustrates the variability of species and structural responses due to stem recruitment and juvenile declines. It also demonstrates the effect of significant regional fire regime change, though it obtains undesirable structural consequences and risks.

The article provides information on the African art collection of couple Joyce Evelyn Kennedy Doyle and Donald Doyle in Africa. It states that the African art includes Kuba raffia hat, Pende fumu mbuya mask, and Tshokwe headrest. According to the author, the art collection allows individuals to understand how African people saw the world around them and what they sensed as artful. Further, it notes that the collection destroys one frequent illusion concerning African art.