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Inequality refers to the extent to which income is evenly distributed across a population (IMF, 2022). The World Inequality Report (WIR, 2022) reveals the latest trends in global income inequality. It shows that the richest 10% of the global population currently earns 52% of global income, while the poorest half of the population takes 8.5% of it. In emerging market economies, indications are that income inequality is rising; sometimes accompanied by accelerating economic growth. Reports reveal that Brazil's six richest individuals command the same wealth associated with the poorest 50% of the population, or about 100 million people. The World Inequality Report (2021) reveals India as a poor and unequal country, with the bottom half of the population earning only 13% of the nation's income, while the top 10% controls 57% by 2021. In South Africa, the IMF (2020) acknowledges that the nation's inequality has remained at high levels, perhaps the highest in the world. This is characterized by a highly skewed income distribution pattern, with the top 20% of the population controlling 68% of national income. These developments hold grave implications for emerging markets, particularly their ability to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The main objective of this paper is to explore income inequality in emerging market economies, with a multi-country study of Brazil, India and South Africa. The methodological approach to the study involves both qualitative and quantitative analytical techniques. It relies on secondary data in publications from various sources, complemented by interviews of stakeholders in the study areas. Findings reveal the income inequality is undermining economic growth and development in emerging markets, fueling conflicts and triggering migration in some countries. The paper presents recommendations, underpinned by progressive taxation, social safety nets, gender equality, development of social services, and leveraging economic and financial incentives for labour-intensive industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa faces several massive, interconnected challenges that reverberate through its political economy, society and education system. This paper offers lessons for the current conjuncture by exploring radical democracy and educational experiments in two other contexts: Brazil, as a point of close comparison, and Rojava (northern Syria), as a point for dissimilar comparison but which offers a "real utopia". The Brazilian student movement (2015–16) involved several waves of mass school occupations in the "student spring" (primavera secundarista), with students demanding free, quality public education and, within the occupations, experimenting with democratic, dialogical, caring educational spaces. The Revolution in Rojava, emerging in 2012 and continuing to date, offers an alternative model of social organisation guided by women's liberation, ecological harmony, and "Democratic Confederalism", a form of anti-capitalist radical democracy. It has provided fertile ground for a profoundly different education system from the statist, authoritarian models previously imposed in the region. This paper draws out several prominent themes from each context, drawing these into conversation with the contemporary South African context. First, the movements demonstrate the pedagogical importance of language and culture, history and social dynamics, the decommodification of education, feminism and ecology. Second, they highlight the political importance of education for self-organisation in relation to broader processes of social transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, three topics concerning the genus Fissidens Hedw. are addressed. Firstly, description of five new species of the genus, viz. the Malagasy Fissidens arboricola Brugg.-Nann. and F. granulidens Brugg.-Nann., the Mauritian F. papillisetus Brugg.-Nann., the Tanzanian F. rotundifolius Brugg.-Nann. and the Brazilian F. pseudoscindulatus Brugg.-Nann. All five belong to F. subgen. Polypodiopsis (Müll. Hal.) Broth. sect. Antennidens (Müll.Hal.) Paris, are corticolous and have anomalous peristomes. Secondly, taxonomic studies revealed that F. subgen. Aloma (Kindb.) Pursell & Brugg.-Nann. is subsumed under F. subgen. Polypodiopsis (Müll.Hal.) Broth. and F. sect. Semilimbidium Müll.Hal. under sect. Antennidens (Müll.Hal.) Paris and their names are considered new synonyms of the names of the respective infrageneric taxa. Fissidens jonesii Bizot ex Pócs, previously considered conspecific with F. lagenarius Mitt. is re-instated as a good species, described, illustrated and compared to F. lagenarius. Thirdly, Fissidens lagenarius is newly recorded for the Republic of South Africa and its African distribution is amended and updated, with consideration of the revised taxonomic concept of F. jonesii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]